The Walls We Hide Behind...Negativity.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.~Ezekiel 36:26

I am by nature a very negative person. I can find 15 things to fuss and grumble about before my eyes even open good in the morning. I have to fight my flesh to be happy and to not make those around me miserable. This is not an endearing quality to have at all. And I have seen it damage relationships that would have otherwise thrived. It has driven a wedge between me and my family. It gave me an excuse to not be effective for the Lord. I was saved at 18 years old and have spent 21 years griping and complaining and hiding behind my wall. It wasn't until I started making an effort to give things to God and to search for the joy in the everyday that things started turning around and I saw the alternative and boy am I glad I did. Thankfully no permanent damage was done and God has been restoring what I gave away, that's right I willingly gave away my joy and blessings, crazy isn't it? I am sorry that it took me 39 years to get it. Negativity is a wall that we erect to protect us or so we think, it doesn't protect it does damage in your life and in others lives. So today I want to share what God has taught me so that you too can stop giving away and damaging what God wants you to have.

First, cling to His word. It will never fail us and it is always true. When things get mucked up I pray scripture. My favorite verse, that applies to many situations is Isaiah 26:3...You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. All I have to do is trust God, He will do the rest, He will calm His child, He will work out the details...He sees the whole picture and I only have a snippet so it is best left to Him. Now I know that things may not always look rosy but I do know that I have a loving heavenly Father that is working all things to my good. That doesn't mean that I will never have hardships and tribulations but it does mean that it will be worth it. Romans 8:28 reinforces this...
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

 for those who are called according to his purpose. And 1 Peter 5:10 shows us that Christ gives abundantly and will strengthen us. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 

Secondly I get busy looking for the jewels that God has hidden throughout my day. Like Andi's post yesterday there is always some thing beautiful that He is blessing us with, we just have to choose to see it. It may not always be a huge, bold blessing by the world's standards but there is always a jewel to be found. So get busy hunting those jewels. It may be something as simple as a cup of coffee or a kind word, don't overlook them...collect them and hold them close.

Thirdly, spend time with the Father. Tell Him all about what is bugging you, He is a big God who cares for us and wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He never gets tired, He never waivers. Talking to our friends can provide immediate soothing and relief but only talking to Yahweh Ro’i: “The Lord my Shepherd. (this portrays the Lord as the Shepherd who cares for His people as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his pasture..Psalm 23: 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.) will bring lasting relief and give us a true change of attitude. And take the time to sit and listen with your heart. His wisdom is remarkable and will never lead us wrong. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.~John 14:26

Fourth and finally....Surround yourself with things that are good. Music that focuses on the positive and reminds us of God's love and care is a great place to start. During my day I listen to WAFJ 88.3 they play happy, Christ honoring music and I will also turn on some good preaching. This keeps my focus on what is good and lovely and many times gets right to the heart of the issue. God is always providing. Be careful on what you put before your eyes as well. In our culture television is geared to make us discontent and distrusting...there is very little on the air that focuses on the good things in life so we have to be extremely diligent ourselves. What we watch, listen too and surround ourselves with does affect our outlook on life.  

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light ~ Matthew 6:22; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. Psalm 101:3

 

Don't give away the gift of today and healthy relationships with those you love just to have the right to complain and have a woe is me attitude. It isn't worth it at all. Trust someone who has been there...