Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
Greetings everyone! I do pray this finds you awaking to a new and positive day with only good things in your sight! We want to speak on negativity and how to not engage in any of it! The title says it all! Many times, we have people who just generate negativity no matter how good things are going. It is like they feed off of the bad vibes and cannot see anything joyful at any moment! It often just really makes me wonder how they have managed to survive life at all. Once someone finds Jesus and ask for salvation; you have a joy in your heart that cannot truly be explained! Maybe those types of people really just need salvation and God to enter into their hearts! When you focus on God, you won’t have time to see the negative and if you do, being a child of God will make you search for the positive, the uplifting, the peace and joy that can change any situation. As believers we must not criticize, demean, defame, talk down at someone, no matter their situation. If you find yourself wanting to say or do things to steal someone’s joy, you really need to call on God for forgiveness, then apologize to that person or persons for your wrongful attitude. We as believers are encouraged to safeguard our peace by looking toward God’s promises and living a Christ-like life; which means “what would Jesus do”, in those situations! And, if you find yourself being treated in that way, don’t focus on them but focus on God and His truth; trust Him to bring you strength to endure the negative of others. And, always remember that no one can steal what God has given, so never let the devil use someone to bring you down! The Bible says, turn the other cheek, and the old saying from the generation of my grandmother said, “kill’em with kindness, and you can get more with honey than vinegar”! As believers, we must let God overcome their negative selves, and just keep trusting, believing, obeying, and be faithful that God will give you peace over the situation. By living our lives in a Christ-like manner, those negative people will begin to notice that your joy comes from something far greater, and maybe they would like to know how to gain that same positive way of living that you have. Like Nehemiah said, “the joy of the Lord is your strength”! So today, and on any day that someone tries to bring their negativity to you, smile, pause, trust God, and don’t allow them to rain on your parade!
Scriptures:
Read: Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:2, 19-21, Matthew 5:10-12, Ephesians 5:20, I Peter 4:12-16, Luke 6:27-28, I Corinthians 15:33-34, Isaiah 55:8-9, Ephesians 1:4-6, Proverbs 4:23, II Timothy 4:2-5, I Corinthians 10:13, Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:6, I Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 2:8, James 1:5, Hebrews 10:22
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come now thanking you for that internal peace and joy that we received when we accepted you into our hearts. Thank you, Father, for the unconditional love that you provide that gives us strength at all times. Help us daily, Father, to give you thanks in all things, and to work continuously at being Christ-like and showing the negative people how receiving you into their hearts can make a change that will last an eternity. Amen.