Battling Negativity

The day starts with the sound of the alarm clock penetrating your mind like a train coming through the room! You reach over and touch the snooze button, yes, just a few more minutes of peace! Peace is what we all desire in our lives. This is not a wish or a dream, peace is necessary for a balanced Christian life. Jesus left us with His peace:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27 ESV)

We have that peace already dwelling in our hearts. A peace that surpasses all understanding:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 ESV)

That wonderful sense of security that has been interwoven throughout our spiritual DNA. His peace gives us the strength to move forward in faith fully trusting Him through life’s storms and trials. Keeping this in mind, the one opportunity we have each day is to wake up and have that peace lead us in all our decisions. The decision to pray, fast, show mercy, or even make financial choices that may effect the business or church accounting. There are many topics that can be mentioned but those should suffice in making the point that peace is the one anchor that we have to feel confident in our choices each day.

The day begins when we put our mind to work and decide what to do first. Get up,  and start the day with a positive attitude. No matter what may be on your agenda for the day be positive about it! Today’s world, as never before, is saturated with negative talk. The talk that can actually break down your peace and manipulate your decisions in such a drastic manner that you loose confidence.  You may even begin to blame yourself for issues that you really did not create but you are listening to negative talk that is tearing you down.

When this begins to happen, whether you are listening to yourself or someone else being negative, start to meditate on the scriptures that bring promise to your life. There are several hundred that will help you ward off  the negative “spirit” of conversation! Philippians 1:6 speaks to the performance factor of your life:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)

Considering this verse you can actually grasp the truth of God’s presence in your everyday life and situations that may occur. His work is being done through you and around you. God is no a negative personality but a positive influence to a negative world. The evil of this world is based on the negative response and attitude toward God. Sin is negative and has a negative influence on lives. Jesus came to give us life and that life more abundantly! (John 10:10 ESV). Now that is some positive input right there. Abundant in mercy, love, hope, faith, spiritual strength and peace. When you think nothing can be done, remember what Paul wrote:

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 ESV)

Now with that in your mind and heart you can look at negative situations and say back: “I can conquer this, no matter what the challenge.” Negative talk is a cancer to the positive influence that you can give to people each day. Turn away form negative talk and embrace the promises of scripture and acknowledge who you are in Him. God can do anything that we ask because He has promised and His promises are yes and Amen in us.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV)

He is faithful to us and we find Him in all our situations and our hope is in Him constantly. No room for the negative talk and feelings that can infiltrate your mind if you listen! Listen to the Word and continue to embrace the many promises that are personally yours. Yours because you have a personal relationship with Him through Christ Jesus! There is a power that works within us that is positive and fulfilling all at once. The scripture that details this is found in Ephesians 3:20:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)

So when that alarm goes off in the morning and your mind thinks it is a train coming through your room, it is not! The start of new day has begun and you have the peace, the promise and the power to go through it positively! Your life can influence one person at a time with positive responses to negative darts that are hurled at you be the author of negative talk, the devil! So get up and put on the armor of God and lift that shield of faith up which is saturated in the Word and dowse out those fiery negative statements. Move forward into your day and own it! He has created it for you! Yes, positively for you!

Dennis

All scripture used in the blog is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.