THE WORST KIND OF SPIRITUAL NEGATIVITY,COMES WITHOUT WARNING

Spiritual negativity originates from the suggestion of evil spirits. The first form of negativity in the Bible was of this kind. The serpent said to the woman, "'Has God really told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?' The woman said to the serpent, 'Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.' The serpent told the woman, 'You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." Genesis 3:1-5

Up until Adam and Eve disobeyed God they knew nothing about negativity. It took the devil whispering negative thoughts into the woman's ears to get her to act as he wished. That was spiritual negativity at work. Notice that his approach here was to slightly change what God said, and then challenge it.

"Spiritual negativity is the most serious, most difficult kind of negativity to deal with."

There are many other examples of spiritual negativity in the Bible. You could read about how the devil influenced a couple to go back on their word (Acts 5:1-11); how he tried to make Jesus doubt He was God's Son (Matthew 4:3); and again tried to make Jesus give up on His plan to go to the cross (Matthew 16:21-23).

What is striking about spiritual negativity is that it can be very subtle, clever, and the suggestion may even sound like a good idea at first. It can come at you any time, anywhere - in the form of a thought (internal) or through the advice of another person (external).

Notice also that the devil tried his negativity on men of great faith such as David and the apostle Peter - and succeeded. That means no one is out of the reach of spiritual negativity...

The best friend of evil spirits is our negativity. They know that if they can get us to be negative, they can steer us anywhere they want.

But to identify spiritual negativity, we need to question our thoughts and ascertain where they come from. We need to ask ourselves, "Why am I thinking this? When did I start feeling this way? Where has this idea come from? Why is this person giving me this advice? What does the Word of God have to say about this?"

To overcome spiritual negativity, just look at how the Lord Jesus did it.

Satan tried negativity on the Lord Jesus, but every time the Lord was alert and quick to spot it. This shows it is easier to identify spiritual negativity when you are spiritually aware, when your relationship with God is strong. God gives those who are close to Him something called "discernment of spirits." This is a unique ability to distinguish the kinds of spirits that you come across.

Spiritual negativity is the most serious, most difficult kind of negativity to deal with. The only way for you to overcome it is to be spiritually strong.