SHUT DOWN NEGATIVITY BY SPEAKING UP
By Maddie Reasner (College Freshman at Hillsong Bible College in Sydney, Australia)
Negativity is quick to squash dreams, aspirations, and goals. Negativity wants you to stay small. Negativity is the enemy’s ploy to keep you from achieving all that God has called you to do. Negative words hold weight when you allow them to. You can shut down negativity by speaking up, by speaking life over yourself, by reminding yourself of the words God speaks out over you, and by confronting negativity.
Confronting negativity can look different in so many ways, it can be just speaking life and encouragement in return… not acknowledging what they said about you. It can be telling someone it is never okay to speak about someone negatively about people. It can even be negativity in your own head that you need to confront with straight scripture. Speak up about who God says you are. Speak up about the things you have accomplished, and the things God has accomplished for you:
He loves you – Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5, Psalm 86:15,
He wants the best for you – Jeremiah 29:11
You are His masterpiece – Ephesians 2:10
He accepts you – Romans 15:7
You are more than a conqueror – Romans 8:37
We are co-heirs with Christ in God’s Kingdom – Romans 8:17
When language is unified it builds up… when it isn’t, it breaks down. God’s language over your life is always positivity, it is always love, grace, compassion, and care. When voices go against what God speaks over your life, and when you listen to them, it causes distress.
In my own life there have been seasons in which I have listened to negative comments or thoughts and it affected so much more than my day, so much more than my headspace, it actually seeped into my own language.
When a classmate said, “No one wants to sit with you,” or “You don’t have friends,” or “you’re stupid” I allowed those words to take space in my mind, and would believe them. Not only would I believe them, but I would start to say them about myself, I would say, “oh I’m so stupid for doing” such and such. But that was never even my vocabulary before. Work hard to keep life giving words in your vocabulary and to expel negative words.
I gave those words headspace and played them over and over. I allowed them to take precedence over the words God spoke over my life. Don’t allow negativity to take root in your thoughts, it is a dangerous game… one that the enemy loves to play. Fight against negativity by using your own voice, don’t let people silence you, don’t let fear silence you, don’t let anxiety silence you, but instead speak up, speak bold, and speak out positivity because God has charged your words with authority. God has given you power and authority to govern and control your own life, AND he has commissioned you to defeat anything not in agreeance with His will for your life. You have authority in your words… use them to speak up.
By Maddie Reasner (Freshman College Student at Hillsong Bible College in Sydney, Australia)
Check-out her blog about her Aussie Adventures: https://maddiesaussieadventure.wordpress.com
