Say Nothing Negative
Posted by Dion Todd July 8th, 2021 5,661 Views 0 Comments
Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient. Matthew 6:31-34 WEB.
We sat quietly at the dinner table while we ate our food. Normally we talked and laughed, but tonight we were both worried about tomorrow. We had found a lien on our property for a tax bill that we never owed, but it had now accumulated late fees until it was more than we had. Disputing it was going to be a challenge in the least because it was over a decade old.
What could we do? We called the state tax office to begin a dispute, and they explained that the record was so old that it had been archived and removed from their system. They would have to send in a request to have it restored from a backup. It would be an overnight process, so they told us to call back tomorrow.
My wife Sylvia and I sat down together, and we prayed over the situation. I heard three words: "Say nothing negative." It was the only word for that day, so we stood on it and just said nothing at all because every single thought I had was negative. It was difficult to not whine and complain and talk about all the different scenarios that may happen. But we managed to restrain ourselves and ate our food in silence.
After a quiet night of stress, the morning came, and we called the department of revenue back. To our surprise, the lady at the tax office was extremely polite, and she had already cleared the lien on the property. We owed them nothing. She took care of all of the paperwork involved. Then explained that we didn't owe all those late fees and penalties because we never owed the original tax bill. She made the whole situation go away.
Don't worry about tomorrow. Pray, and try to follow the Lord as best you can today, even when you don't understand. Let tomorrow worry about itself. One word from God changes everything. So many times, the things we worry about never come to pass, unless we open our big ol' mouth and invite it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for being on my side. Please give me the grace to say nothing negative, and remind me that the words I speak matter. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!
Note: Ladies, today is Thankful Thursday at the "Ladies in Distress" group (our RHM women's group)! You are welcome to join in our weekly sharing of thankfulness for the Lord's presence and any blessings you may have experienced, big or small! "Ladies in Distress" is a private group, so if you have any problems joining, just post anywhere and we will help you :). Here is the link: Ladies in Distress
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