Article April 20, 1998 Issue

TIME OF UPHEAVAL, TIME FOR PROGRESS

R. William Alderson

One time I was summarily fired from what I thought was a fine position and forced to find a different type of work. I had been happy with my previous position and had felt comfortable in it. But the lesson I learned from this experience has been a great help to me in the years since.

The Bible speaks many times of people who had to deal with great changes in their lives. The children of Israel, for example, had been welcome guests in Egypt for many years. Then the line of ruling Pharaohs changed. Strife erupted. The Hebrews were reduced to slavery. They were, as the book of Exodus states, made to serve "with rigour: and they [the Egyptians] made their lives bitter with hard bondage" (Ex. 1:13, 14). When Moses was inspired to lead his people out of Egypt, they were willing to go.

"As an eagle stirreth up her nest" (Deut. 32:11), encouraging her offspring to fly, so we may need to be awakened from complacency. If we, too, end up serving "with rigour," or being imposed upon, or unhappy with our present situation, this may be a signal that it is time for us to abandon old thinking—to leave the nest—and seek something better. That was what happened to me, and my new work turned out to be far more enjoyable and far more rewarding than my previous position had been. Out of momentary turmoil came long-lasting progress and joy.

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