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| Life is too Short for Negativity |
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Greetings!
Today's devotion is the part of the series "Life is too short ..." This series explores poor human responses to life issues with solutions from God's Word. Today, we will tackle negativity.
Negativity is the state of being negative. People operate in negativity when their speech, thoughts or behaviors are characterized by habitual skepticism and a disagreeable tendency to deny or oppose positive suggestions or commands. In the case of the follower of Jesus, negativity is the outlook and mode of operation people use when they don't follow God's Word and will.
Life is too short for negativity. Negativity is a joy killer and a life sucker. Negativity is a product of a poor spiritual condition and outlook. Negativity usually surfaces when people are presented with an option to choose hope in Jesus or follow the world. Negativity is the result when people choose the negative over hope, faith and trust in God. Negativity is a faith repellant that assumes the worst in the world, people and the future.
In our work with former foster youth, we have discovered the tendency for negativity is strong due to the trauma youth have experienced and the negative life models provided by caregivers and the "system". Unfortunately, the statistics about former foster youth don't help as they paint a negative future of teenage pregnancy, death, suicide, prison, joblessness and homelessness. As these youth set out on their life path, negativity is something they have to deal with daily. Fortunately, hope is the answer and Jesus is the positive provider of hope. It is our honor and privilege to share the hope of Jesus with youth on a daily basis and to witness negativity crushed as youth determine and learn that life is too short for negativity.
As a fellow pilgrim on the journey to God, I implore you to stop the negativity in your life. Life is too short for negativity. Consequently, life is too short for anything but positive speech, thought and behavior. As an ambassador of Jesus, you are always on display to a lost and dying world. I know you are not perfect, that you face hard times and difficult situations. Still, I also know that God is great in you and He has a plan and a future for you that is bright and brilliant.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 |
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Keep it Positive!
19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ Ephesians 5:19-20 ~ |
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Beat the ANTS and win at Life!
Recently, I had the opportunity to share at a Men's conference. One of the attendees spoke with me about something I shared years ago in a church service he attended. The message that day dealt with ANT's or Automatic Negative Thoughts. ANT's are thoughts we have that shape a negative outlook. When ANT's build up in our spirit negativity is the outcome. Life is too short for negativity and for the ANT's that shape our negativity.
I first learned about ANT's from Dr. Daniel Amen. Below is an excerpt from one of his teachings about negative thought:
"I often teach my patients how to metaphorically kill the ANTs that invade their minds. ANTs stand for Automatic Negative Thoughts. The ANTs are automatic. They just happen. I have identified nine different kinds of ANT species, or ways your thoughts can distort incoming information to make you feel bad. Here are four ANT species:
Mind reading --- predicting you know that another person is thinking something negative about you without them telling you. I often tell my patients that, "A negative look from someone else may mean nothing more than he or she is constipated. You don't know. You can't read minds. I have 25 years of training in human behavior and I still can't read anyone's mind."
Fortune telling -- predicting a bad outcome to a situation before it has occurred. Your mind makes happen what it sees. Unconsciously, predicting failure will often cause failure. For example, if you say, "I know I will fail the test," then you will likely not study hard enough and fail the test.
Always or never thinking - this is where you think in words like always, never, every time, or everyone. These thoughts are overgeneralizations which can alter behavior. For example, I have a friend who asked out an attractive woman. She turned him down. He told himself that no one will ever go out with him again. This ANT prevented him from asking out anyone else for over nine months.
Guilt beatings -- being overrun by thoughts of "I should have done... I'm bad because. I must do better at I have to). Guilt is powerful at making us feel bad. It is a lousy motivator of behavior.
You do not have to believe every thought that goes through your head. It's important to think about your thoughts to see if they help you or they hurt you. Unfortunately, if you never challenge your thoughts you just "believe them" as if they were true. ANTs can take over and infest your brain. Develop an internal anteater to hunt down and devour the negative thoughts that are ruining your life."
Paul's encouragement in Ephesians 5:19-20 is a way to defeat ANT's and negativity. We simply need to make the conscious decision to end negativity. It may be difficult but don't allow negativity to run your life or ruin your day ... life is too short. Instead, change your life by allowing God's Spirit to change your mind. Remember, you are in control. Yep, it is up to you. God is ready, willing and able but He will not use mind-control. It is a choice you make to be negative or positive. God will use the resources of faith, hope and love to encourage you to have a positive outlook and rest in the promises of His Word.
This week, make the choice to operate in faith and hope. Life is too short for negativity. It will rob your life and kill your joy! Instead, speak to others (and yourself) in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Next, "make music in your heart to the Lord" by focusing on God's grace, love and compassion. Lastly, always thank God for everything in the name of Jesus and watch the clouds of gloom and negativity give way to the brightness of God's hope! |
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For King and Kingdom,
Randy Martin |
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