Steer Clear of Negativity

It has become incredibly apparent that God is allowing us to see how far the world has deviated from the path of His love. There seems to be no end to the depth of wickedness and evil of those that are greedy and power hungry. Many of us think we know where this is headed, and we’re wondering when and if God is going to put a stop to it. Will He bind the plots of the enemy before those in power go too far? Will He send heaven’s armies to extinguish desires of dark hearts for terror and vengeance, and to wake up the higher senses of us all? These are complex spiritual questions, and only God knows the answers. None of us can know more than what He reveals, and we should not make the error of speculating. What we should and must do is keep our eyes stayed on Jesus Christ and to do all we can to steer clear of negativity.

Make no mistake, there will be a backlash for the rebellion of those that have ignored and even mocked the sovereignty of our God. We are witnessing it happen, and because we’ve enjoyed the plethora of God’s manifold favor, grace, and patience in seasons of the past, most of us are trying to reach back to a season that once was but now is over. For folks like me that are most comfortable with heralding the positive and teaching only about the abundance of His generosity and mercy, our current season marks and requires a departure. You’ve no doubt heard remnants of prophecies from modern day prophets and seers, and although some do not warrant attention, we must not turn a blind eye or closed ear to all.

A season like no other is upon us. 2Corinthians 4:4(NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” As God’s called-out ones, we must not allow satan to do this to us! No matter what is happening in the world, we must never allow our eyes to be blinded to the Good News of Jesus Christ. God has saved us through Christ! We have a responsibility to keep our eyes open to the truth, to keep darkness out of our hearts and minds, and to help others do the same.

Fear grips many of us and because of the events we will witness in this season, we may be tempted to give in to fear and allow it to consume our thoughts. We should resist this. We must resist it in our conversations, interactions, and attitudes towards people and situations. Most importantly, we must resist it in our embrace of the goodness of God and our relationship with Him. Jesus Christ commanded in John 12:36(NLT), “Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

All negativity is birthed from darkness and it belongs to that kingdom. 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) affirms, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” This means that wherever God is taking us, darkness cannot tag along. Don’t allow friends, family, and colleagues to goad you into conversations that lead to glorifying what the devil is doing. We must spend more time in prayer and less time in conversations that attract more negativity. This is the last thing we need.

Let Psalm 91:1(NLT) be your perpetual encouragement. It tells us, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Do all you can to remain in God’s shelter, and He will keep you in His protection and care. In the days ahead, more than ever, we will need to be more adept in discerning the voice of God and hearing it as clearly as we ever have. If there is a need for us to prepare and do things differently, He will tell us, but make sure you do not deny His voice. Do not let denial cause you to cover your ears. Do not refuse to rally your strength and move as He leads. Be flexible to the Will of God as He moves you to do whatever is necessary to stay in the arms of His safety and care.

Our Heavenly Father tells us in John 3:16(NKJV), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God’s Will is that no one perishes. He wants all people to be saved, but all people do not want to be saved. They do not want to love and honor the One who created them, and they worship the creation, not the Creator. We cannot pretend that there isn’t a price to be paid for making this wrong choice. There is, and as we witness the cost of the world’s sin being paid, let us be ever so careful to pray and not give in to gossip. Let’s not be swayed by wrong information. Let’s be careful to look above the hills, for God is the Source of our help. We must pray without ceasing and keep our hands firmly in His hands. Nothing is more important than growing in Christ. Especially in this season, don’t let anything keep you from it.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“Steer Clear of Negativity”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.