Positively Good Productions
Sowinig blessings and life lessons to encourage, refresh, and benefit our lives.
Some people try to fill a hole that has no bottom.
They are convinced that they should fill their lives
with more, more, more people and experiences
while completely ignoring their inner black hole...
void... and emptiness.
Each of us has a Spiritual void,
a yearning, a sense of helplessness
that only God can fill.
Some people simply cannot be alone. When they
are alone, they feel lonely, isolated, alienated,
excluded, and fearful. They have a strong desire
to fit in somewhere. As a result, they develop
emotional attachments to people, objects, and
experiences.
It is futile to try to fill the inner
void in one's heart and soul with
everyone and everything around
them.
However, there is a vacuum... a
void in every man's heart that
cannot be filled by anything
created.
This infinite chasm can
only be filled by God.
A hole with no bottom.
Some people must always be surrounded by others.
This is the criterion that gives them a sense of
validation.
As they move from scene to scene in their social life,
they adopt group-derived and peer-dependent identities.
Some people are only alive in public.
Their identity is strongly intertwined to all
social life's arrivals and departures.
Their lives may be filled with activities, but
they do not have any degree of understanding
of why they do these things.
Their lives have no overall purpose. They have
no clear understanding of their own true nature
or identity.
Many people go through their days without ever
thinking about life or what it means to them.
The contemporary self seeks celebrity and
connectivity as a means of being seen and
known by others.
Their goal is to be recognized, visible, and
connected, but most fall short... they come up
empty… and remain untrue to themselves.
More things, people, and experiences, no matter
how appealing they appear, cannot truly satisfy
that inner longing.
Some people live solely in relation to others,
and what remains of their lives is... loneliness.
Contemplate how life would be different if we
all put as much effort into developing a loving
relationship with God and ourselves as we do
with others.
Some people are naturally inclined
to spend time alone with themselves.
While, others cringe at the thought.
When our minds are preoccupied and distracted
by things in the outside world, we are in a state
of constant questioning.
It is a response and reaction situation. When it
comes to spending quiet time with God, inner
"noise" can be just as distracting as outside noise.
Preparing our hearts to hear from God necessitates
concentrated effort. We are distracted by noise,
whether it is outside or inside.
Focus is always found at God's feet "But Martha
was distracted by her numerous tasks, so she came
to the Lord and asked, 'Lord, do you not care
that my sister has abandoned me to do all of the work?'
Tell her to help me.'
But the Lord replied,
'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by
many things; only one thing is needed.' Mary has
chosen the better part, which will not be taken
away from her.'"
Luke 10: 40-42
Martha was gently rebuked by the Lord
because she had forgotten what was important.
There is noise to distract us everywhere we go,
even in our own homes, from telephones to
televisions to traffic. However, making time
for daily devotion is essential for hearing God!
It is extremely crucial that we put an end to any
activity that would prevent us from hearing God
when He speaks. We never want to be in a situation
where God is speaking to us, but we are not
hearing Him. We should not be people who are
oblivious to God's voice.
When God speaks to each of us, we should listen
and recognize that He is speaking to us. When we
allow God to lead us in everything we do, say, and
think, we will find ourselves more productive and
spiritually effective.
God is already communicating with us. We should
be in God's presence listening for His voice.
Every day God wants relationship-building time
with us, which means our highest priority must be...
time at His feet, in His presence.
Making time for daily devotion is essential if we
want to hear God! A time of devotion and prayer
should be taken seriously... and it requires time.
Devotion is defined by the dictionary as "the fact or
state of being passionately dedicated and faithful."
Using that definition, we should strive to become
more devoted to God than to anything or
anyone else.
It is difficult to enter the relationship that God has
called us to when we are constantly running around,
doing things, talking, and never feeling at home
enough to be quiet in His presence.
Being alone can be a very positive experience.
Being alone is a blessing, not a curse. From the
outsider's perspective, looking in, nothing much
happens in the quiet zone.
People in the quiet zone tend to say that they need
a few days, or even weeks, alone to think, pray, as
well as meditate.
Without our old ways of thinking and routine
activities to fall back on, time in the quiet zone
can result in significant soul searching and
heightened self-awareness.
Don't go along with the crowd.... stay true to
yourself. Maintain your authenticity. The
bandwagon effect is a cognitive bias that
causes people to think or act in a certain way
because they believe others are doing the
same thing.
Following the crowd can be dangerous because
it causes people to lose their development of the
rational mind and forces people to stop establishing
their own viewpoints about given situations. This
can lead to things like dependence and an inability
to think critically and construct one's own opinion.
Following the crowd can also provide us with an
illusion of security. It can make us numb to potential
dangers and delusional about them.
On the other hand, groups of like-minded people
offer comfort and stimulation to those who
avoid responsibility. Social acceptance allows
them to justify their thoughts or behavior more
easily. Confirmation bias maintains the illusion
and the feelings that support their position. It is
not difficult to persuade someone to do what their
nature already desires.
The emotions of a crowd on a path that
corresponds to their desires can be appealing.
These feelings can become stronger as the group
grows, resulting in a movement. This is where
the risk lies.
Every destructive influence has an appeal
that lures the senses. It's just enough to pique
one's interest. It's amazing how people can feel
so strongly about popular ideas about which
they know very little.
The problem is that we have a tendency to be
short-sighted and seek to satisfy those needs at
the expense of a much larger picture.
Some people are people pleasers who seek
approval.
Some people are black and white thinkers who
sees a situation from an all-or-nothing perspective.
They require certainty. Others are attempting to flee
responsibility in search of relief. In either case,
some people simply find comfort in numbers.
" Enter through the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide and the road that leads to
destruction is broad, and many enter through it.
But the gate to life is limited in size and the road
to life is narrow, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14
We can only be ourselves if we are generally
alone. Spending time alone with God allows us
to delight in God. In this quiet time, meanings
and insights can emerge, providing the recipe
for new beginnings.
Alone time allows us to reflect, contemplate, and
evaluate ourselves. In essence, we learn more
about ourselves. We learn who we are and
Whose we are.
Most people can agree that
real love grows from within.
We can fully realize the reservoir of rich love
within in the silence of the heart. This quiet,
timeless space creates a state in which our
being can expand while still retaining the
reservoir of that rich love within us.
To find the treasure, we can look within. As our
awareness grows, we can tap into the reservoir
of our being and recognize the rich love that exists
within. Then we can reclaim the love we thought
was outside of ourselves.
God has placed within us a vacuum
that only He can fill.
Until God is there,
nothing satisfies.
Solitude can help us achieve a state of gentle peace.
Pure silence is a transformative peace in and of
itself.
Solitude provides an opportunity
to listen to God.
"My soul waits in silence for God alone."
-Psalm 62:1
Solitude is something we choose. From the
outside, solitude and loneliness appear to be
very similar. Both are distinguished by their
solitude. However, the similarities end there.
Solitude is a time for introspection and
soul-searching.
The state of being alone without being lonely
is known as solitude. Solitude is a positive and
constructive state of identity.
Solitude is desirable state of being alone
in which we provide ourselves with
wonderful and sufficient company.
A few moments of quiet prayer...
may be all that is required to
transform our day from one of
disorder to one of beauty and order.
Jesus prayed for guidance
in places of quiet solitude.
We typically look for external cues to guide
us into a new beginning, but our inner attitudes
toward life, our renewed self-awareness, and
intuition are the true hallmarks of our
new beginnings.
By relying on our inner voice to tell us where
to go in life, we are likely to have more motivation
than if we were to depend on the expectations
provided to us by others.
If we are enslaved with outside love, we are
bound to live like an unexpected mishap.
Solitude is a state of being alone but not lonely,
and it can lead to self-awareness. Seeking and
enjoying solitude helps us in caring for our souls.
Quiet time allows us to do the things
we want to do and the things we love,
without any compromise.
Alone time allows us to exhale and relax.
It allows us to get a fresh perspective.
Getting away from others can regenerate
the inner self. When we need to get away
from the world we can turn to solitude for
assistance.
Some may say we are insane, but solitude
does not pass judgment. Solace, on the other
hand will sit and listen to all our thoughts and
dreams.
Time alone gives us the opportunity
to pray, listen, ponder and plan.
Instead of being told or influenced by others
and their opinions, alone time allows us to get
to the heart of what we truly need and think.
A few moments of complete silence can be like
a breath of fresh air. It allows us to breathe new
life into ourselves.
Quiet time entails both an inner state of being
and an outward condition.
Jesus regularly took time to be alone
with His Father in prayer.
Giving ourselves the ability to be alone
allows us to appreciate the time we spend
with others more. It is critical to strike a
balance in this area; once we do, we will
enjoy our relationships even more.
Being alone is one of life's
greatest treasures.
Accepting solitude enables us to truly be with
someone else... and have it mean something.
We can only become whole by taking the time
to get to know ourselves.
We need quiet time because we need God.
God is the One who makes sense of life for
us, in times of crisis or calm.
The next time we are finding it difficult to
get away from the noise and get alone with
God... let us remember who is standing in
our way,
then remember
Who is greater!
We withdraw from people, noise, cell phones,
e-mails, and text messages in order to be with God in
solitude.We get away from all of the spaces in our
lives, all of the roles we play, and all of the people
who are either cheering us on or telling us what we
should do differently. We get away from it all to be
alone with God."
Only God can make us whole. May we allow
God to lead us so that we do not continue to
look for people to fill an inner void that only
God can fill.
Everywhere we go, even in our own homes,
there is some kind of noise to distract us,
from telephones to TV to traffic.
But making time for daily devotion
is critical to hearing God!
Everywhere we go, even in our own homes,
there is some kind of noise to distract us,
from telephones to TV to traffic.
But making time for daily devotion
is critical to hearing God!
Positively Good's Recent Videos
