Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Negatives

I think we all agree that we are weak in our own skin. Because of this we tend to get easily taken in by the negatives of life..


Worry targets us and literally runs us down.


Discouragement seeps in like a slow leak and before we know it we are flooded by it.


Doubt dangles itself before us threatening all that we believe in our hearts.

And, Fear illusively edges itself in around the corners of our mind, wraps its bar-like fingers around us and holds us captive.

Yet, we are told over and over as believers in Jesus that we should not worry, that we should ignore discouraging thoughts, that if we doubt or fall prey to fear than we are not trusting Christ.

But, I object… to that thought process anyway. The one that says meeting up with the negatives means they will overtake us and that we don’t believe Christ.

The fact is that our very core is divided by two constantly warring forces. We are both depraved human flesh and we are children of God, filled with His Holy Spirit. They are oil and water. Dark and light. Love and hate. A positive and a negative charge blasting away at each other vying for ultimate power.

Yes, we are in the habit of letting the negatives fuel our emotions and drive us head first into our flesh, giving it the control it needs to thrive.

But, it doesn't have to be this way.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we cannot stop feeling worry. We cannot stop the whispers of discouragement. We cannot keep doubt from creeping in. And, certainly we will not stop staring in the eyes of fear. These emotions will absolutely strike us. And, it’s time to realize that it’s not about stopping them it is about re-directing them. 

Upon contact we must thrust them forcibly at the right power source… the one that snuffs them out instead of allowing them to ignite and consume us. Changing the way we think about the negatives will change the way they affect us. 

It’s not natural. It’s not easy. It requires a little heart surgery. And, a lot of mental re-training. But, I believe we’re up to the challenge and the good news: We were never meant to do it alone.


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15 comments:

  1. This was directly aimed at me today...thank you for the reminder we're not alone and redirecting our thoughts makes us as children of God the strong ones in the battle. Praise God we don't face this stuff alone.

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  2. Heidi!
    Heart surgery indeed.....LOVED this! What a reminder that we all can use! It's beautiful to see the body of believers encouraging each other! peace to you! So glad you joined us!
    lori

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  3. So so true! Just reinforced what our Bible study group is learning in Breaking Free! We need to direct all our thoughts to Him and have the mind of Christ!

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  4. So nice to know he carries our burdens and lightens our loads! All worry does is give us something to do...it doesnt get us anywhere! Great verse!! Happy WFW! luv u

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  5. Your words reminded me of Paul and his words in the book of Romans about the inner battle that goes on inside us. He finally cries out "Who will rescue me...thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord" Paul is talking about sin but I think it applies to negative/destructive thoughts too. Christ is the solution!

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  6. I love your post! It is such a powerful verse!!

    Changing the way you handle things is not easy like you said. I continue to work on this and pray on this!

    Happy WFW!

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  7. heidi, this is such a wonderful reminder. i needed this today. i am going through something and really, i'm short of doing something stupid out of frustration and desperation. but i believe God still cares because He gave me three verses already that i can stand on.

    it's so hard not to worry. i don't like worrying. i am very much still a work in progress.

    thank you for commenting. your comment saved me.

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  8. Love the picture and the powerful encouragement that you shared from the verse. Blessings to you.

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  9. Great word! The enemy loves to place doubt in a child of God's mind. for if he can get us to doubt then we won't use our faith. This is just one of his tricks he plays on us. But glory to God we can rebuke him for God says I did not give you the spirit of fear put of power and love and a sound mind. Glory

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  10. Amen and well said, my friend. We'd save ourselves a lot of wear and tear on our emotional and physical well being if we chose God as our default and "praise Him anyway!" Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on my post. I hope things smooth out and settle down soon for you and Kelli.
    Love to you,
    Debbie

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  11. This spoke to me today - "it’s time to realize that it’s not about stopping them it is about re-directing them." We can redirect those thought and take them captive. God gives us that power. Love that we are NOT alone!

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  12. Great post. Worry and fear will creep in sometimes. Like you said, we need to re-direct it. We were not meant to live this life alone. Thank you for this!

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  13. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks...

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  14. Amen Heidi, and very well spoken!

    We're going to have these emotions, but when we can recognize them for what they are and reroute them into His Capable Hands, the burden is lightened. You're completely right, we were never designed to do this alone. :-)

    Have a Blessed Day!

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  15. What an awesome post! Thank you! And thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! Blessings to you!

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