lasting relationships abide

Abide Week: continued condition

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship; last

Negativity is a powerful snare we often feel entrapped in. Days and weeks are wasted with our incessant inner fight to get rid of our negative thoughts. When willing them away reveals itself an empty attempt we find ourselves layering the negativity of our inability to change it onto the layers, which had initially brought us to that place.

None of us desires to be stuck in this trap, or it would not, by definition, be a trap at all. Relief, though minimal, is found in the realization we are not the only one who wrestles with this negativity within. Our sense of loneliness is not reality, but realizing that in theory is easier than it is in practice.

This negative person within us, which we spend the bulk of our time and energy wrestling is possible to be released when we are able to be in a continued condition and attitude toward Christ. We can lose the negative person within.

In order to lose him, we have to realize where the negativity came from. We also have to realize we do not create emotion. Think of every emotion you have: anger, sadness, happiness, negativity. You do not create those emotions by an illustrious act of will or thought.

Emotions are not creations; they are reactions.

Every emotion is a reaction to something else that has happened to us and created a certain belief. Every behavior we do is a reaction to something we believe in our core. Realizing this, the way of losing the negative person within us means, first, determining what it is that has created the negativity. What has happened to us to create within us the emotion of negativity?

Once you realize, after searching, what that thing is, you have to change it. We cannot change the behavior alone because it does not get to the root of the real issue. In order for the behavior to change, the real change must be in the belief. Search yourself and determine what it is that makes it okay for you to be negative and change that thing within yourself.

That change will bring the loss of the negativity, but more importantly we are getting at the real understanding of having a continued condition and attitude toward Jesus.