We live in a negative world. We are bombarded daily on television with reality shows where people invite strangers into their lives, which causes people to judge and criticize how they live. The news constantly tells us about everything bad going in the world, and leaves the good until the end of the broadcast. These things have caused people to be too involved in other people lives. At work people are gossiping about what happened to so and so on the various reality television shows they watch. We are so busy watching how everyone else lives that we forget to live our own lives.
The things going on in our world make it easy to become discouraged and depressed. Therefore, I watch very little news and only select TV shows. I try to be careful what I allow my eyes to see and my ears to hear, because some of the stuff going on makes me sad and weary. I am thankful that God is a part of my life, in him I find hope, peace, and joy.
How can we stay positive when we are daily surrounded by negative things and situations? How can we stay positive when it dwelling on negative things is easier than thinking about positive things? God’s word tells us that Christians are to be the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). We are the encouragers, we always look on the bright side and we always have a smile on our faces. Even though we know all of this it is still hard to stay positive all the time. In 1 Thessalonians 5:6-18 it says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The first thing we need to do to stay positive is to “Rejoice always”. Whatever situation we find ourselves in we should be joyful. All we need to do is remember all the things that God has brought us through. Think about all the blessings and all the good times we have shared with love ones. We should remember that no matter what is going on around us, God is still in control. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). When things get tough for me I put on some praise and worship music and I give God praise for all that he has done for me. This gets my focus off my problems and my focus on God. I put my trust and faith in God and believe that he will see me through every situation I find myself in. His word says he will never leave us nor forsake us, he is always by our sides (Deuteronomy 31:6). Our God loves us so much, he wants to be near us all the time. He is our refuge and strength, he is a present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). When we find ourselves in trouble we need to depend on God to see us through.
The second thing to do is “Pray without ceasing”. There is nothing like prayer to get our focus off the negative and get us focused on the positive. Each day we should be praying. Praying that God protects us, guards our hearts, minds and spirits. Praying for every situation we find ourselves in. Praying about decisions we need to make. Praying for our family, our coworkers, work environments, pastor and church family. Prayer
should be something that comes natural for Christians. Praying gets our focus off our problems, and puts our focus on God the problem solver. In prayer is where we get to fellowship with our heavenly father. There is nothing like spending time in fellowship with God. Spending time with God gives us a different perspective about our problems.
The third thing to do is “Give thanks in all circumstances”. We should be thankful for all the things we have and for every situation we find ourselves in. Believe me I know it is hard to be thankful if you get a diagnosis that you have cancer. When we are thankful our perspective about our problems change and we remember that a diagnosis of cancer does not mean a death sentence. We serve a God who can speak a word and our situations can change. We must stand on God’s word, trust and have faith that he can do what the bible says he can do. We should always be thankful for all that God has done for us.
God’s will for us is that we always rejoice, we always pray and that we always be thankful in any circumstance we find ourselves in. We need to have an attitude of gratitude. We need to remember all that God has done for us. He let his only begotten son die on the cross for our sins. Jesus died so we can be redeemed from our sins and that we can be a part of his kingdom. This gives us hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Remember that weeping is just for a night and joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Whatever problems we may be facing today, tomorrow is a brand-new day with new blessings and new joys.
LSW
Linda Sharp-Williams 