To walk in the fullness of all that life in God is, we have to fight. And this fight is with no ordinary enemy; it’s against the opposing force of negativity.

Negativity shows up in our lives in all shapes and forms. From negative emotions and thoughts to negative words and actions, we are constantly presented with the opportunity to say “no” to negativity so that we can live an elevated life.

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)”1

A mind set on the negative will kill everything it touches. It is hostile towards God and leads to death.
Any negative thought we have about ourselves or about anybody else immediately puts us into a hostile place in terms of our own relationship with God and works against His purposes. That doesn’t sound terribly clever, and gives us all the more reason to set our minds on the Spirit.

This unordinary fight requires unordinary weapons. The primary one being rest.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This kind of rest in partnership with God is an invitation to live without fear, anxiety, worry, and panic. And once cultivated, it’s our greatest weapon against all opposition and negativity.

We can live a life where we never need to react to something because we are always responding to Someone. When we respond to Him and His rest, there is no room for any negatives.

The key to cultivating this kind of rest is learning to change our mindset in terms of how we see ourselves, how we see people, and how we see our circumstances—showing all negativity the exit.

Every time we experience a negative, it is an opportunity to be led by the Spirit and dwell in the place that God has set aside for us.1
‘Dwell’ in this sense can literally mean “to occupy,” so we are learning to occupy our place in the Spirit through the daily situations we face.

This gives us a constant decision that we get to make as we encounter different situations and people:

“Will I choose the negativity or will I occupy my rest in Christ?5”

Just remember that when we occupy our rest in Christ, negativity has no power over us. This allows us to go to the places that God wants to take us in our development with Him.

So let’s be intentional about killing it in our thoughts, conversations, and actions. Let’s wage war on negativity because we are yoked with Jesus in rest!