The Antidote for an Unhappy Life

Many years ago I was extremely negative because of the devastating abuse that had taken place in my past. The result was that I expected people to hurt me, and they did. I expected people to be dishonest, and they were. I was afraid to believe that anything good might happen and thought I was protecting myself from disappointment by not expecting anything good.

But when I really began to study the Word and trust God to restore me, I began to realize that all of the negativity had to go. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus says that it will be done for us as we have believed.

I believed everything was negative, so naturally, many negative things happened to me. So, if I was going to get rid of the heaviness of despair, depression and discouragement, then I had to let go of the past and move into the future with hope, faith and trust in God.

The Truth Set Me Free!

As I began digging into the truth of God's Word, my life began to radically change! I found out that God is a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). And I began to turn my negative thoughts and words into positive ones!

Now, I’m not saying that we can get whatever we want by just thinking about it. God has a perfect plan for each of us, and we can't control Him with our thoughts and words.

But we can think and speak in agreement with His will and plan for us. We can practice being positive in every situation that arises. So even if what is taking place in your life at the moment seems negative, expect God to bring good out of it as He has promised in His Word (Romans 8:28).

Real Hope That Makes a Real Difference

Hope is a powerful, spiritual force that is activated through our positive attitude. It’s not a wishy-washy “I just hope things get better” kind of mindset that doesn’t really trust God.

I like to define real hope this way: a happy anticipation that something good is going to happen or an aggressive expectation of good things. It’s a firm belief what Satan means for harm, God intends for good (Genesis 50:20), and that all things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28).

Satan wants to hurt you and have you spend your life distrusting everyone because somebody hurt you when you were a child, while you were in school, in your marriage, on your job, etc. The list of who, what, where and how you can be hurt is endless.

But you don’t have to settle for this kind of life. You can put your focus on God and His Word and believe what He says more than what you think or feel or what your circumstances look like.

You can say, "No! That is subject to change! I am a child of the living God! Something good is going to happen to me!" 

In Christ, you are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You don't have to allow the old things that have happened to you to continue to affect your new life in Christ. Romans 12:2 says you can renew your mind according to the Word of God. As you do, you’ll discover more of God’s will for your life and have hope—an aggressive, positive expectation that something good is going to happen—every single day!