“Negativity is killing you.”
That was the message from a little boy sitting beside me at the end of a conference table in my dream last night. At the other end was a person I admire who was talking about practising the fruit of the Spirit – especially peace.
When I woke up I argued with the Lord that I am really trying to be positive, and I’m much better than I used to be. I also want to be honest (integrity matters!) and isn’t speaking only positively and not acknowledging the darkness in the world just a form of denial? How can you pray about a problem if “there is no problem?” The Bible says nothing about “speaking that which is as if it is not.” That’s not faith! That’s sticking your head in the sand!
Oh God, there is so much darkness and evil and unbelief in this world! I can say that I have peace, but my body reminds me that stress is churning my stomach right now. I feel like a hypocrite when I deny the experts’ dire predictions.
The answer came: Negativity is denial when it gives more weight to what the enemy of your soul says than to what I say. Negativity is denial when you neglect to give thanks for all the ways I have already blessed you. Negativity is denial when you forget that I love you relentlessly. Negativity denies that I AM is sovereign and that I have overcome the one who came to steal, kill and destroy. Who is the talking head authority in your life? Which “expert” do you choose to listen to? The one who devours, or the One who loved you so much He overcame death just to set you free from it? Who do you choose to yoke up with?
So where do I find peace when darkness is all around? How can I change atmospheres?
Jesus said: “I have told you all this so that you may find your peace in Me. You will find trouble in the world—but, never lose heart, I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33 JBP)
OK, Lord. Today I choose to keep my eyes on You. I will enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise.
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
(Psalm 18:28)
Charis: Subject to Change 
Pingback: No Denying It | David G. Perkins
I hope you do not mind that I reposted this on my blog, without your permission. I needed this lesson, today. It spoke to me NOW, and hit a real issue I am experiencing today.
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I do not mind in the least. We don’t travel this road alone. I’m so glad if it can help in any way.
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Sometimes, all the darkness can be overwhelming. Some days it hits with more force than others. The enemy wants to immobilize us; Jesus wants us to continue to move toward Him. This is a beautiful post, Charis.
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Ah. You get it, don’t you, Susan? I wonder if that is why the most frequent command in the Bible is “Fear not?”
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I have conversations with Him that are so similar. His ways sure are much different than mine.
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Perhaps that’s one of the ways you know it’s a conversation with Him. Sometimes this stuff just comes out of left field, but it always lines up with scripture -and often draws your attention to scripture you have been ignoring. And even correction builds us up in a way that reveals love. Would you agree?
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A name came to mind of a preacher I never listen to (on T.V.) last Sunday morning. I wasn’t going to church, just staying home.
So I complied with the incentive to listen to what he had to say…In his message he said in more ways than one that the battle is already won and that as born again Christians we are protected from curses (which I see as negativity) and have His Power that overcame death within us.
I don’t know, just something about a few things he said that were positive I decided lined up..so I asked a Pastor I know about protection the next day, and he gave me Isaiah 54:(17) Seemed to confirm that trusting God more (not less) is what I needed to do.
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I hear you, Nansea. Trusting more. Yes.
I like this verse as well: “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight.” (Prov.26:2)
At some point as we grow up we all lose our innocence and become reconciled to the reality of sin -ours and others, our own perhaps being the most disappointing. There’s a line from a a song that comes to mind: “Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers…” (from”How Great the Father’s Love for Us) that has made me weep. I also realize curses sometimes (ok frequently) have come out of my own mouth. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. For a chatterbox the idea of giving an accounting for every word spoken is daunting.
As they mature some people’s eyes are opened to the reality of the nature of the battle in the spiritual realm. You can’t “unsee” some things. It’s like a loss of innocence. But you can choose to look to the one who restores purity for direction. You can choose to follow the Light.
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The one thing I had commented on about what the preacher on T.V. had to say was that he omitted the fact that there are consequences for sin. For me, in discussing it with another person, consequences do not just go away when sin is repented of. He is merciful, but it seemed much of an ideal world without that particular pain, or the pain of persecution, or of just living in a fallen world that was being painted.I do, however, believe, that there was something I needed to hear in what he said…that was reminder of His ability, and needing to trust it exists within me.
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Consequences of sin. Yes. If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. But the principle of reaping what we sow is still there. But God, most amazingly, is so good at using everything in our lives we sometimes wonder if he planned it that way (although sin is clearly not a part of His plan!). After the terrible crime of adultery with Bathsheba and killing her husband, the good and faithful Uriah, there were consequences -terrible consequences. But it always encourages me to see that it was her second son, Solomon, who fulfilled his fathers vision of building the temple. Mercy.
But I understand how a message can clearly speak to you even if you do not agree entirely with everything a person says. When I quote people on my blog it is because that one quote has touched me. It is not an endorsement of everything they have ever said, for sure. I can spit out the bones. So can you, obviously.
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