Enough already!!!!

I am trying to be a positive thinker in a negative world. When I hear my family member or my friend speaking negative thoughts it makes me upset. I always tell them to think positive and that when negativity pops in their mind, to ask God to remove the thoughts and to focus on something good. I need to heed my own advice.

I have noticed three situations lately where I have been negative. And on top of that, I have spoken to two people earlier this week about their negative thinking and how to help overcome it. Here are the three things that popped in my head.

1. My grandmother was rushed to the ER last week. The Paramedics were trying to get in her home after she called 911. She could not answer the door because she was disoriented, so they broke in. She is doing better now and went home that same night. My husband went over to her house yesterday to drop off a few things I had for her. He called me and asked me to call her house and let her know he was at the door because she was not answering it. My immediate thoughts, were “oh no, she may be hurt, she may need help.” (She was okay, just had the TV too loud.)
2. My very good friend is expecting a child. She went to hear the heartbeat for the first time yesterday afternoon. After 4 hours of not hearing anything and her not responding to my texts or calls, I became nervous. I thought things may not have gone well at the doctor’s office. I contacted two of our mutual friends to see if they heard word yet. My anxiety caused them to become nervous. They weren’t thinking anything was wrong, until I called. (I did speak with her, everything went well. She heard the heartbeat…she did admit to me that at first they could not find the heart and she, herself, instantly began preparing herself for bad news…she too thought negatively right from the get-go.).
3. My husband was working cutting grass on a farm today with a large tractor. He was to knock off around 6. He told me that if I called and he did not answer that it may be because the tractor is too loud to hear the phone. He has answered each time I called, so I forgot about the fact that he might at some point not hear it. 6:10 rolled around and he hadn’t called me yet to say he was coming home. Dinner was ready and I wanted to tell him to hurry before it got cold in case he lost track of time. For 45 minutes I tried to reach him with no success. I began to fear that he may have had an accident with the tractor so I got in my car to drive to check on him. Not even a mile from my home, he called me back to say he couldn’t hear the phone over the noise of the tractor and was heading home.

During each circumstance, I called out to God. I prayed for Him to (1) let my grandmother be alright; she was. (2) To please let my friend call me soon with good news; she did. (3) To keep His protective hand over my husband and to let him hear his phone; he did.

When the anxiety over my husband’s safety overwhelmed me today, I heard myself speaking the same words I shared with other’s this week. I immediately prayed for God to remove those negative thoughts from my mind. God answered.

I feel it is easier to be negative than it is to be positive in the world we live in today. The world, the media, and everyday people we know are all negative. But I am trying to sink myself into God’s word and His promises to help me overcome this anxiety.

One thing that helps me is listening to God tell me not to be “of this world.” Romans 12:2 says - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

The world likes to bombard us with negativity. There have been times in the past people have tried to speak negative things on me (out of genuine concern) and it has shocked me that they would think such. They would say things like, “have you ever thought that “this” may be because of “that?” Well, NO…not until NOW, thank you very much….geez!!!

If the world wants to harp on all the bad things in life and all the “what-if’s” they can, but God’s word tells me NOT to in Romans 12:2.

Other verses I like to meditate on is a portion of Proverbs 12:25 – An anxious heart weighs a man down….How true that rings. Anxiety not only weighs you down mentally, but physically as well. It can wear you out

AND…2 Timothy 1:7 – But God did not give us a spirit of fear. But of power, love and a sound mind. This verse is staple in my life almost daily, I repeat this to myself often.

I believe some of us, more than others, have to work harder to stay positive. It is easy to let fear, doubt and anxiety overwhelm you. Most of us do not think very positively about ourselves that we think something bad is waiting around the corner for us. But rest assured, you can change your frame of mind. As a child of the great King, you can take authority in your life to remove these thoughts and the work of the enemy. For me, this is a struggle that happens too often, but not as bad as it has been in the past. I am learning to lean on the promises of God. I am glad that I caught myself today and asked God to help me. I am thankful that He opened my eyes to see that I need to practice what I preach.

God is a loving God. His love is full of peace and serenity. I know this! I choose to be more positive. I will pray for God to show me how. I will pray for God to show me the instant I am negative and help me to turn it around. I will pray the same for you.