Have you ever thought about the power of negativity? Negative is the opposite of positive and has a powerful pull. Negative criticism will often stick much more in your mind than positive words of affirmation. As a pastor I will hear over and over the incredible stories of how God is working in the lives of his people, but there will be that one story without the happy ending that will occupy my thoughts and discourage my spirit. Negativity just has its way of standing out. It is a lot easier to become discouraged than it is to be encouraged.
It works the other way as well. I recognize it is important to be careful with the words I speak to others. Yes, there are times when you need to speak the truth in love to another, but you earn the right to do so by being a source of encouragement and affirmation. In Hebrews 10:25 it says let us encourage one another and even more so now as the day of the Lord’s return comes near.
The power of the negative is huge. But here is the thing: our God is is greater. Yes, we will face negativity in this life, but God has not left us without hope. Consider the following as you encounter negativity in your life.
1) Trust in Jesus. Jesus says in this world you will have trouble. In other words, we will face negativity. But that is not the end of the story. He goes on to say, “take heart for I have overcome.” (John 16:33) Jesus will prevail and you will prevail when you put your life in his hands and live obedient.
2) Remember the most important person to please is God. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks about you. What matters is what God says and thinks. This is why God’s Word says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
3) Occupy your mind with God’s Word. In Philippians 3:8, the Message Translation, says, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
Consider the following quote from Pastor David Platt in his book Radical: “The battle is intense, and it cannot be fought with little thoughts in a daily devotional or petty ideas from a preacher on Sunday. It certainly can’t be fought with minds numbed by the constant drivel of entertainment on television, DVDs, video games, and the Internet. If you and I are going to penetrate our culture and the cultures of the world with the gospel, we desperately need minds saturated with God’s Word.”
I love that thought. Saturate your mind with God’s Word. Anything less will allow the negativity to creep in and eventually overwhelm your thoughts.
4) Pray! Too many of us spend so much more time worrying than we do praying. We let the negative thoughts churn and churn in our minds without ever asking God what he has to say about it. Over the next few weeks I will be talking about the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday mornings. In this sermon Jesus says, “Do not worry.” The reason we worry is because we do not ask. The Apostle Peter would later write cast your cares on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
5) This is an important point that is often overlooked – Ask who are you running with? Do you associate with people who are negative? Or do you run with people who are encouraging? Do the people you associate with constantly criticize others and rarely have anything good to say about anyone or anything else? I have been among Christians who when they gather will do nothing other than complain about their church and individuals in the church. This is neither healthy nor helpful. When we hang around individuals who are constantly negative it will only bring us down.
6) With that said, consider the words you speak. Choose your words carefully. Other people are not the enemy. Satan is! Do you speak well of others? Are you a source of criticism or of encouragement? If you don’t have something good to say about someone, it is probably best not to say it at all. Be slow to anger and slow to speak. Before condemning others, pray for them. Jesus says, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) When you start praying for someone, the negative feelings you have towards that person will start to be replaced with love, compassion, and generosity.
7) Know that from out of the negative God will do something incredibly positive in your life. Some of the most incredible movements of God are born out of the bleakest of circumstances. In Isaiah 6 we read about the calling of Isaiah. We read King Uzziah had died. Uzziah had suffered the judgment of God and died because of his spiritual failings. What was more was the people Isaiah lived among were morally bankrupt. They had nothing going for them. In many ways Isaiah was spinning his wheels. His ministry was less than effective with little impact upon the people around him. Next, God appears before Isaiah in the temple and all Isaiah can say is “I am ruined.” Not a good thing. Yet, it is in this bleakest of moments when Isaiah was at his lowest that God would revive Isaiah’s ministry and make him and a powerful voice of wisdom from on high. God will use negative events and circumstances to reveal himself in a might way.
Learn from criticism. Our default is to arbitrarily reject criticism directed towards us, but then we allow it to eat away at us on the inside. I hold a motto that is to be slow to take offense. We too easily become offended at what other people might say to us or about us. Rarely does the other person intend to give offense that we think they were out to give. Receive criticism graciously. No matter how off based the criticism might be there is usually some element of truth in it from which we can learn.
9) Put on your armor (see Ephesians 6). Know that there is a battle that is going on. Fighting negativity is not an easy thing. Satan is the great naysayer. He is out to convince you that you are not good enough, not smart enough, not talented enough, and beyond hope. He will use negativity to bring you down. If you desire to be a force for the good of God, there will be spiritual powers and authorities at work to discourage you and hinder your work. That you can be sure of.
So I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul as an encouragement to be strong: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
