Being around family members, spending money, eating foods that are not good for us, feeling lonely or uncertain about our future—these are just a few things we deal with this time of year and they can cause us to feel negative or down.
But I want to encourage you because there are things you can do that can turn these stressful relationships and situations around so you can be at peace.
(I also just released this prophetic word about how peace is so important for us to enter into the new season at hand.)
And while you can’t personally change a person, you have the power to change a lot more than you think. Starting with this:
You can shift the spiritual
There is a spiritual atmosphere all around us even if we are not aware of it. Here’s what I mean:
Have you ever been around someone who has a negative outlook on life? Or maybe you walk in the room and you can tell that someone is mad at you. You can feel the negative vibe even if they have not spoken a word.
This is an example of how the spiritual atmosphere operates. If negative things can have such an effect on us, then it can be the same with positive.
There is power in what we agree with and allow into our thoughts and life. It is so important to rise above the negativity happening all around you and connect with God’s higher thoughts and plans.
Why this works
What we focus on,how we think and how we react to a situation really matters. If we are continually seeing what is wrong with a person or situation we can be blinded to God’s creative solutions.
The things that we sow we shall also reap in our lives (Galatians 6:7). This is a very important spiritual principle that we need to be aware of and it explains why some people who are sowing negativity will receive back trouble and turmoil in their lives.
Changing your life can be as easy as changing how you choose to view a person or an event happening to you. It is really important that we choose to have a positive effect on people around us. There are things that we can do that can turn around any situation or bad relationship. And we can learn from the situation so we can grow.
Tom’s story
I was talking with a friend who told me he felt controlled by his boss and dreaded going to work each day. He was not in a place to change jobs so he reached out to me for advice. I’ve been in his situation before so I shared with with him what worked for me, to shift the atmosphere.
Here are 4 things I encouraged my friend to do, that can work for you too:
I asked him to make a list of the positive qualities about his boss. That’s right. Not list all the negatives, but the positives. He reluctantly came up with a few good qualities of his boss.
• I recommended he find a way to bless his boss by doing something for her that she would like.
• Then I encouraged him to ask God to show him why his boss is the way she is.
• Finally I advised that he pray for his boss each day for a week.
Within a short period of time, the spiritual atmosphere shifted over Tom’s work and he started getting along with his boss. He also began viewing his job more as a ministry as he applied these steps to the other relationships at his work.
We do have power
When we feel powerless to change a situation, we can start feeling like we are victims to our situations especially when it comes to relationships.
But God has given you everything you need to succeed. You have the Holy Spirit in you and God’s love and power to guide you.
You have everything you need to heal and repair broken or bad relationships, to start new friendships and strategic relationships, to find a mentor or even find your life partner.
All you need to do is become aware of the power you have and be intentional in how you respond to things around you.
Here are a few easy steps to get you started in this:
• Stop blame shifting: Take full responsibility for your life.
• Stop complaining: Step away from negative talk and thoughts.
• Start blessing: Find ways to bless those who are not being nice.
When you take positive steps toward change, you will shift the spiritual atmosphere over your life in a relatively short period of time.
Learning to turn around negative relationships will free you up to align yourself to positively influence people around you. These principles can apply to your spiritual life and even deepen your relationship with God.
Another step you can take to positively change your life is to attend this online workshop I am doing this month called Changing the Spiritual Atmosphere Over Your Relationships.
Blessings.
