FAITH IS ATTRACTIVE Presented by Suzette-The Marriage Warrior Have you ever noticed how attractive a positive person is? Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to be “positive” when internal struggles haunt you? When a partner within a marriage is critical or negative, the relationship will suffer. No one desires to be around a “negative nelly”, a “nagging woman” or an “angry man”. Individuals who have a negative disposition cause loved ones to disconnect, and their partners to turn off desires of affection. So, what is the root of pessimistic traits? Negativity was not God’s original design. When our Heavenly Father formed us, He created us in His image and in His likeness, which is having a good nature, rather than a critical one. This was our original state of functioning. The way humans veered away from this original design is through fearful childhood experiences. For the child to protect themselves from the unsafe environment, he was forced to utilize distancing behaviors to survive. The child’s distancing techniques were valuable in assisting in coping with the environmental chaos. However, as the individual becomes an adult, he carries with him the distancing behaviors, as well as the original fear. This combination is a recipe for destructive relationships. The root of pessimism/negativity is fear. God identifies “fear” as a spirit, as described in 2 Tim. 1:7 “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love power and a sound mind”. A critical spirit is not just a phrase, but rather a description of an entity that cannot be seen. When a child develops within a fearful environment, he must incorporate distancing behaviors to protect himself from harm. However, these protective walls were built because a “spirit of fear” entered the child’s life, without the child’s permission. To address a spirit, we have to comprehend that a supernatural entity operates with a higher and stronger power than our human capabilities. Behavioral changes initially require self-awareness. However, self-awareness alone is insufficient when addressing an unseen spiritual force. To overcome a supernatural power, you must be backed by a higher supernatural power. This is where faith is introduced.
16 | ON M AG AEVERY Z I N E N ACORNER ME FAITH
God is called the Most High, clarifying that He is the supreme being, above all other high powers of the enemy. Fear and faith are the same in that they both require belief in something unseen. Fear of the unknown results in negative behaviors, such as anger, control, pessimism, and doubt. Whereas, faith in God, builds strength, confidence, creativity, and hope. Childhood negative experiences create a weakness within an individual that doesn’t just disappear with age. The weakness occurred as fear entered to replace hope. Inwardly, the person feels robbed of hope. Internal hope was part of the original design. As hope was replaced by a foreign agent, it didn’t feel right. This is where the negativity and sickness began. The scripture confirms this weakness as it describes “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12). Christians living with this internal weakness and negativity get confused or even condemned with scripture such as… “joy is our consolation” (ps. 94:18-19) and that we should be like the “tree planted by living water” (Jer. 17:7-8). But it is unnatural to feel joy or like a watered tree when we have been robbed! So, who robbed us? The spirit of FEAR did! The enemy sent the spirit of fear, knowing full well that it would make us angry and want to control things that we could not control. He knew exactly how to invade the innocent life of a child with circumstances beyond a child’s capacity to manage. He also knew that the child would bring to adulthood the spirit of fear with all the negative behavioral results to further destroy the individual’s life. To address the situation, one must identify where the spirit of fear entered into the childhood experiences and caused the insecurity. Next, the adult Christian can detach from the unintended childhood agreement with fear, and through Jesus, take back authority. James 4:7 says to “resist the devil and he will flee”. Resisting will take consistent effort since the spirit has operated since childhood. However, rehearsing a scripture that contradicts the spirit of fear’s lies, can help to combat through spiritual warfare.
