September 24, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right!
Does Positive Thinking Reduce Stress?
Positive thinking reduces stress and will benefit you mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The word stress is in direct correlation with the word pressure. So, if you are allowing the situations around you to create unnecessary burdens, you can expect a stress filled outcome.
The Word of God tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” The Lord makes it clear that we are not to worry or stress about the difficulties in our lives instead we are to pray about everything, Philippians 4:6-7.
We have to get to the point where we do not allow the things that we cannot change control our attitude, demeanor, or behavior. That is when you will start to see negativity begin to creep into your life and that is the last thing that you need. Stress invites anxiety, depression, and irritability, anger, worry, and many other unfavorable emotions
When you can maintain a positive mindset instead of allowing worry to consume you; it will prevent physical afflictions to your body like headaches, body aches, tension in your neck, back, and shoulders, lack of sleep, and even heaviness. It really can hinder your peace and serenity when stay dead set on keeping a negative outlook instead of seeing things in a positive light. The way that the world is today, you cannot afford to add more stress onto what you already have to deal with on a daily basis!
This Week's Message: Be a light shining in darkness-
As children of God we have been taken out of darkness and out of the hand of the enemy and now have been placed into the Lord’s marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
As we dive into this verse of Scripture we understand that the Lord didn’t save you out of darkness so that you can keep it to yourself. He wants you to share with others what He did for you because there are so many people that do not know Him. Every human life counts and you may be their only chance at salvation. The fact is, everywhere you go nowadays you are going to come across evil and wickedness. The devil isn’t hiding anymore, but he is out in the open for everyone to see!
That is why it is critical that you make it a point to shine God’s light and keep His light shining in the midst of the darkness. People should know that you are a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ the moment that they come into contact with you. The way that you present yourself, the way that you walk, the way that you talk, and the love that you show should all be dead giveaways of Whom you belong to.
The people that spend time around you should say, “There’s something different about you.” It is a complete blessing to have been called by the Lord to be used as His vessel. The question is: are you exhibiting the characteristics worthy of His calling? Are you the light of the world?
Ephesians 4:1-4 makes it clear what those characteristics should look like when the Apostle Paul writes, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.”
Let us make sure that we are radiating the light of Christ in all situations because the fact of the matter is; your light might be the only one that someone will ever see!
Radiate God’s Love:
1 John 4:7-8 is very descriptive when John states, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” The Lord is making it known that He wants us to exhibit one of His most beautiful characteristics and that is love! It will be one of the main factors that will truly set you apart from other people that do not know God. It is the message of Christ to His children, Colossians 3:14.
It can be difficult to approach every circumstance with love but as Christians we have to try. We are the true light of the world set apart to show others that there is a different way of doing things. You don’t have to get angry, retaliate, or snap back when you are put into a situation where you feel like you have to be defensive. We have to approach scenarios like that the way the Lord would and that is with love.
I remember years ago working alongside a coworker that was just filled with hate and anger and wanted to make sure that I knew it. Needless to say we did not always see eye to eye. I began to pray about the situation and ask the Lord how I should handle it. Every single time that I would go to Him, His answer consistently would be “with love.” I gave her a bible and prayed for her.
Our relationship got better, but the important part about the whole situation was that she knew that she could come to me in her time of need when she truly needed prayer and that I would not hesitate to be there for her. That is the kind of love that the Lord wants us to radiate; the love that can see beyond the hate, anger, bitterness, and messiness and choose to love anyway. It is the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
You can completely ruin your entire witness for the Lord by allowing your emotions to get in the way of how you know He would want you to react in difficult circumstances. It is a powerful thing when you can keep your composure. You have to be willing to understand that people exhibit certain characteristics because of the power of evil influencing them and things that have happened throughout their lives. A person doesn’t just want to act negatively; they just do not know how to get set free. Give others the same kind of grace that the Lord gave you and you will be amazed at how far your patience will take you!
Shine His light with the Help of the Holy Spirit:
If you are a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ you will be partnered with the Holy Spirit. What that means is that the free Gift (Holy Spirit) that the Lord has given to us will lead you, guide you, convict you, and teach you the way that you should live according to God’s Word. When you allow the Spirit of God to have full reign in your life you will naturally become His light in the middle of darkness.
Your thought process and the way that you handle situations should be completely different than someone that does not believe in Christ Jesus. How is that possible? The more time you spend with the Lord, with the Holy Spirit, and in His Word the more your heart and mind will completely transform, Romans 12:2. We are in the world but not of the world, John 17:16. In order for that transformation to take place we have to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in us. He is our powerful and unique Weapon!
Ephesians 4:30-31 tells us, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” The Apostle Paul is giving us the simple understanding of the things that will grieve or sadden the Holy Spirit. So, when you feel yourself showing any of these kinds of unfavorable characteristics, know that they are upsetting the Lord.
You have to keep your light shining as bright as you possibly can which means preventing the enemy from provoking you into getting so upset that you get yourself out of character. It is not worth it! The Holy Spirit will give you that check letting you know that the way that you are acting is wrong and needs to be adjusted, but is it up to you whether or not you will listen and correct it!
I know I’ve had to change my actions on multiple occasions because I said something that wasn’t pleasant or the tone in my voice was unnecessary. The Holy Spirit will let you know right then when you are out of pocket, but you have to remain connected to Him so that He can guide you the way that He needs to. He will lead you and steer you in the right direction so that you can make sure that your light shines bright and stays lit!
Radiate His Light and don’t be so quick to Judge:
One of the worst things to have if you are trying to be a shining light for Jesus Christ is a judgmental spirit. You feel like you can gossip about another person’s flaws, you think that nobody can ever do anything correctly, and you always have something negative to say about everything and everyone. Does that sound like someone that has the love of the Lord? Absolutely not! That is so far from what your character should look like if you are trying to radiate light in the midst of someone’s darkness.
Jesus Himself gives us an example of how you are to avoid being judgmental. In the story of the Samaritan woman by the well, the Lord knew her situation; she had five husbands and was living with a man that was not her husband at the time of the encounter, John 4:16-18. Jesus spoke to her with no judgment but instead gave her words of knowledge and showed her compassion so much so that she went back to her city and told many people about a Man that told her all things and she perceived him as Christ, John 4:29.
How did she come to that conclusion from such a brief interaction? It was the light of the Lord shining through Him that let her see Who He truly was. That is exactly how God wants us to approach others; He needs us to be His light here on Earth amongst so much darkness. There is always going to be somebody around you that needs to see the Christ in you so that they can at least have a glimpse of Who He is!
But, if you allow judgment and criticism to get in the way of your witness for Christ; you are never going to be able to be a successful disciple. The bottom line is that people are going through a multitude of problems in their lives that we can’t even fathom. If we walked a day in their shoes we probably wouldn’t survive. As Christians we have to treat the people around us with absolute love and respect, just like we would want to be treated.
The Lord commands us in Mark 12:31, “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” You cannot get any clearer than that. He wants us to shine His amazing light for everyone to see. I know when I was in that dark place in my life the last thing I needed was someone to pass judgment without having an understanding of what I was going through!
This week let us meditate on what the Lord truly means by being a light in the midst of darkness. Let go of any unnecessary judgment and allow the Holy Spirit and the Love of God to work through you so that you can be an effective disciple for the Lord Jesus Christ. You don’t know how much time you or the people around you have on this Earth make sure that you live every moment of your life to the absolute fullest!
If you’ve missed some of the previous Positive Weekly Messages, no worries I am linking them below:
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 19, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 12, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 6, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! August 28, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! August 22.2022
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