Watch out for the negative people. Watch out for them; they are everywhere. They seem to have the Minus touch. If the Midas touch makes everything gold, the Minus touch turns everything grey. These will try to sap your joy and enthusiasm for life. They sigh more than they sing.
Bunyan’s Pilgrim needed to beware of the Slough of Despond. We too need to watch where we walk. There is no gift of “discouragement” given to the New Testament church as far as I know. Watch out for the gloom and doom folks. Black clouds are always on the horizon for them. Some folks are not happy unless they are unhappy. As with cows, they should have bells around their necks as we can at least get out of the way before they trample us with all their bad news.
Jesus was the most powerful and positive person to ever grace the face of the earth. Of course He was God come down to be with us, not against us. The woman with the issue of blood had had one negative experience after another until she met Jesus. When she touched Him her issue was “stanched.” She was almost “drained.” Life has a way of draining us if we are not careful. She was drained financially, physically, socially and spiritually. Then she got in touch with Jesus. She touched Him.
Jesus said, “Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me” (Lk. 8:46). The word is “Power.” The KJV calls it virtue. There is power in virtue. There is power in good. Power went out of Him. She and He were the only ones who knew something had happened.
Everywhere too, there are believers, people filled with God and filled with grace. We are grateful for these gifted with the gift of encouragement. Thank God for saints like Barnabas, and all the other Sons of Consolation. They just touch us; they just brush by us and we are blessed and better for it. They can do more with a single word than some sour saint can do with a whole sermon to lift our flagging spirit. The sunlight of their countenance is most welcome and the darkness overcomes it not. We thank God for them.
If you can find none, look for Jesus. Open His Book of Books and touch Him. Let Him touch you with His Word. If we, like this dear woman (in Luke) could just push our way past all the negative religious people, past the multitude of gloom and doomers, all the Pharisees and the Sad-You-Sees and touch the hem of Him, He will heal what hurts. Negative people need help too. We believers work for the oldest Power and Light Company. Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world." Touch Him. Jesus declared, "all power is given unto me." He is never drained. Of this I am positive. God inhabits praise.
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