Dates to Remember:

Friday April 7
   Good Friday

Sunday April 9
   Easter Sunday

Sunday May 14
   Mother's Day

Monday May 29
   Memorial Day

Sunday June 18
   Father's Day

Tuesday July 4
   Independence Day

Positive or Negative: Whose Side Are You On?

March 3, 2014 By Ruth Seebeck <spanLeave a Comment

If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. ~ Jim Rohn

I read something a few weeks ago that startled me. The article said that at least 75% of our thoughts are negative … complaining, grumbling, pessimistic, angry, envious, gossipy. You get the idea. I was shocked – until I started to pay attention to my own thoughts.

• Gee, the weather sure is yucky today.
• I wish I didn’t have to go to work.
• I don’t want to go to that meeting.
• I just really don’t like so-and-so.
• I don’t have time for this! Geez, there is just too much in my schedule.
• Can’t anybody around here do anything to help out?
• Why do I have to do it all?
• I can’t stand it when ….

From the clothes I put on in the morning (shouldn’t I be grateful I have a closet full of clothes?) and the way my hair turned out (bad hair day … again!) to the people who interrupted my schedule (Can’t they see I’m busy?). On and on it went.

Soon, I was stressed, disgruntled and disgusted with life. Whose fault was that? Mine! I was unconsciously accepting all those negative thoughts (and their consequences) instead of denying them place in my mind and mouth.

Are you experiencing a lot of wonderful, positive things in your life? Or are you feeling beaten down, defeated and negative? Either way, the fault or credit actually lies with you. More than any other influence in your life, your thoughts and words determine your course and results. Are you listening to the CANs or the CAN’Ts, the promises or the problems? Whose side are you on?

There’s a reason why I used the word “whose” instead of ‘which’ in the title. Jesus explained it this way: the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; I came so that you would have an abundant and overflowing life (John 10:10). Earlier, in Deuteronomy, God said we have a choice; we choose: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live (Deut. 30:19). Whose side are you on?

God wants you blessed, prosperous and healthy, full of peace and joy. He wants you to have all the things you need to live a victorious life in this earth realm. Satan, on the other hand, wants you sick, defeated, depressed and dejected. Whose side are you on?

You cannot head north and south at the same time. You have to choose a direction in order to reach your destination. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21).The words you speak direct your life, either positively or negatively. It’s that simple. Your strongest power source is actually right under your nose!

God told Adam that seedtime and harvest would not cease as long as the earth exists. Later, Luke narrated Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, stating that the seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11). Words exert spiritual power in the universe. God hastens to perform His Word(Jer. 1:12). So does Satan. Are you sowing seeds or weeds into your life?

In the beginning, Genesis explains: God said … and it was so. Then He created you in ‘His image and likeness’. In other words, you’re just like God. He made you a ‘speaking spirit’ as one translation explains it. You may not feel like it or want to believe it, but your words have more to do with your life and lifestyle than you realize. Even Jesus said, “The words that I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwells in me, He does the works” (John 14:10). Jesus tied His words to the power of God. By saying only what He heard from The Father, He tapped powerful miracles and blessings. If you can control your mouth, you can control your life.

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (Ps. 34:13) Guile is deception, treacherous cunning. In other words, it’s actually a lie, presented as the truth. Satan presents lies to your mind all day long. He will try to trick you with symptoms of illness, lack, discontent, anger and any number of negative thoughts. If you accept them as true, you’ll soon hear those thoughts coming out your mouth. In essence, you ‘bought’ the lie; now it’s yours. Here’s how it works:

“I’m tired,” you think. “I don’t want to do this.” The thought runs through your mind a few times, experimentally, to see if you’ll accept it. Soon, you’ll hear yourself telling a co-worker or friend, “Gee, I don’t know why, but I’m really tired today.” You’re sowing seed, and harvest is coming. As the day goes on, you’ll feel more and more tired, followed by a sense of sadness and lethargy. You bought the lie, and now it’s yours. Truth, meanwhile, says “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13); and “I am strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord.(Ps. 19:14)I propose that we, you and me, become more aware of our thoughts and words. God wants you to use The WORD to defeat those negative thoughts before they become a stronghold in your life.

If you want goodness and mercy to follow you all the days of your life (Ps. 23:8), then you have to start out by saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” Ps. 23:1). If you want God to be with you in trouble, to delivery you and satisfy you with long life (Ps. 91:15-16), you first have to say, “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him I trust; surely He shall deliver me,” (Ps. 91:2-3).

Just like seedtime and harvest, positive and negative, good and evil, blessing and cursing are going to be around until Jesus comes. But God gave you the opportunity to choose your results with your words. If you’re making resolutions for 2014, work at this one. So, whose side are you on?

Recent Blog Posts

• How to Forgive: 7 Steps to Emotional Freedom
• The Danger of Anger: Biblical Wisdom for Anger Management
• Positive or Negative: Whose Side Are You On?
• How to Deal with Difficult People
• How to Conquer Anxiety and Dread: 3 Steps to Help You Eliminate Fear

---