Negativity

 September 1, 2022

I’ve written many times about how God lifted the cloud of melancholy when I learned to give praise and thanksgiving. I’d often read 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (“In everything give thanks ; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”), but for years failed to see it as a command which I had been disobeying. No wonder I often felt melancholy! It’s hard to be happy when we’re turning our backs on God’s clear will for us.

This afternoon Linda and I drove an hour to see some old friends. One of three mentors in my spiritual life had died, and we wanted to see his kids who were young as we once were when I was just starting out as pastor. We had a wonderful reunion with friends we hadn’t seen in forty years, and when we left, were able to meet and have dinner with another couple from those years. As we talked about life, our grandkids, and our faith, they shared with us some of what they have been doing as they have led marriage seminars in their church. They put us on to a podcast by Jimmy Evans, someone we hadn’t heard before, and we decided to listen to one of his talks on the way home.

He had a lot of good things to say about marriage, but in the middle of it, he said something that really caught my attention. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3), and in Psalm 100:4, we read, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Here’s what caught my attention: he said, “God never allows negativity in his presence.” 

It’s no wonder there are so many who cannot seem to experience the presence of God; with all the negativity being fomented by the media and even more by our own hearts, we can’t get within shouting distance of God. So much of our thought life and conversation centers around all the things we don’t like. We complain about the weather, about politics, religion, the educational system, healthcare, our aches and pains, people who irritate us…the list goes on and on. Negativity seems to ooze from our very pores. If we can only enter his presence with humble praise and thanksgiving, it’s almost as if there are angels guarding the gates of heaven; when someone negative approaches, they are turned away. 

The surest way into the presence of God is through humble thanksgiving: “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15). If I allow negative thoughts into my head and heart, they will shut and lock the door into the presence of God.

I experienced this reality this morning. I woke up and immediately my mind turned to the news (which is never positive). I drove to the church to meet with other men for our Thursday morning prayer time. They were praising and thanking God for various things. It was clear they were experiencing his presence. I was not…until I repented of my negativity and turned my words to praise. I didn’t feel like it, but that praise unlocked the door to my self-imposed prison, setting me free by ushering me into the presence of God.