Have you been struggling with feelings of negativity? Of late, I have had this feeling that negativity is covering us like a cloak, and we don’t know how to fight it. Recently, many people I communicate with are also stressed with a feeling of heaviness that they can’t seem to shake.
What are some common signs that negativity is encroaching into our home life, businesses, work, church, and communities?
- You feel exhausted even after a good night’s rest.
- You are highly critical of yourself.
- You are no longer celebrating your or others’ accomplishments.
- You have lost interest in things you used to enjoy at home, in your church, or your community.
- You prefer to isolate yourself. It takes too much energy to go outside of your home.
The list goes on, but most importantly, you don’t feel like yourself, and the joy factor in your life has left.
May I challenge you to look outside yourself? And believe me, I am also preaching to the choir here. This is what our enemy, Satan, had planned all along. If he can discourage us, he can take us out. He uses life-numbing weapons like unhealthy substances (food, drugs, alcohol, etc.), TV, porn, the internet—anything, really—that is not of God and we think will take these feelings of negativity away. As we fall into these traps, things don’t get better; the negativity begins to grow to a place of being uncontrollable.
These weapons produce death and destruction. There is only one cure for negativity in any shape or form—come under the Word of God and speak God’s truth to the lies of negativity.
Yes, the world is in a mess right now, your home, your business, your finances, and your personal life may be as well. But I promise you that whatever you feed grows. If you feed your negative thoughts, you will birth even more in areas where they didn’t already exist. God’s word is clear, Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Go to God’s Word; seek out His promises and His truth—your negativity will start to diminish. This is because God says in James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
You don’t have control of the world’s negativity, but you do know how the story ends, and that should bring nothing but joy!
Be encouraged!
