Practice the Presence – Day 37

Truth:

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” Numbers 20:12 (New International Version)

Thought:

God almost always punished the children of Israel when they grumbled against Him as they spent the 40 years wondering in the desert. There was one time He didn’t. Instead He punished Moses – the one who interceded for the people time and time and time again.

It was the time Moses’ reaction to the sin of the people was in direct disobedience to what God told him to do. Look at Numbers chapter 20. The people once again complained to Moses. He went before God and was told to lift up his rod over the rock. Instead he struck it twice and was told he wouldn’t bring the people into the land of promise.

Seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it?

Maybe we should see how seriously God takes our response to negative situations. Moses’ reaction to the complaints of the people made him sin against God.

Do we ever allow our negative circumstances to let us choose to sin against God?

One of the lessons God is teaching me through these 40 Days for Life Above the Negativity is I need to be careful how I react to actions, attitudes and spirits that set themselves up against the knowledge of Christ.  When people who should know better seem to act under the spirit of stupor I want to confront them and challenge them and get them to see it right… I need to digress; I’m fasting from negativity and as you can see, I may have a way to go to make it a lifestyle.

I know how God wants me to react. I’ll share more of that in about two days. But for now it’s enough for you to know that how we react to those around us is important to God.

Moses couldn’t enter the promise land because of how he reacted to the grumbling of the people of Israel.

So how are we to act positively in extremely negative situations?

The key is to practice the presence of God.

Brother Lawrence was a 16th century Carmelite monk and was the first to popularize this discipline. He saw God in everything. All his work was “as unto the Lord.”  He wrote in what in what would become “The Practice of the Presence of God”:

“As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before Him, fixing my mind upon His holy presence, recalling it when I found it wandering from Him. This proved to be an exercise frequently painful, yet I persisted through all difficulties.”

Practicing the presence of God is focusing on His holy presence wherever we are, whatever we do.  When you live within a negative environment, you need to live with the understanding given to us by JB Philips’ translation of Romans 12:1-3:

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity” (Romans 12:1-3; Phillips)

Don’t use your negative environment as an excuse to remain negative. As a child of the one who created the weather, you bring your own weather wherever you go. As you allow God to renew your mind from within, you will begin to change the world around you.

You are the salt of the world and light of the earth. You preserve and illuminate the area where you are. The gates of hell cannot prevail against you so live the promise of Isaiah 26:3:

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (NLT)

Prayer:

Lord, I know it matters to You how I respond to other people’s negativity. Forgive me for responding negatively myself. Help me, Holy Spirit, to recognize the holiness of God wherever I go. Enable me loving God to bring Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control wherever I go.

Challenge:

Take up the 16th century challenge of Brother Lawrence and as often as you can today, place yourself before God as a worshiper and fix your thoughts on His goodness and holiness. Bring Him into your thoughts and conversation today.

Declaration:

I choose to change my negative environment by seeking God and pursuing His peace.