Negative Thoughts Distract You (Part 1)
He was on his way to profess to be an atheist because he said that God had not dealt kindly with him at all.
Negativity hinders you from achieving your full potential. There was this young brilliant man in his mid-thirties, full of life and energy. He wasn’t born into an opulent, and wherewithal family. His family was on the bottom of the societal ladder. The countryside where he grew up didn’t have any electricity, good schools. He was living in abject penury stripped of all the goodies that children have and that childlike exuberance.
At a very young age, Kwesi Annan was more mature than his age and older as compared to his peers because he had to make decisions for himself. He worked on his family’s farm and sold the proceeds to earn a living. He always harboured the thoughts that life hasn’t been fair to him. He blamed God. He was not a very devout Christian, but he was a churchgoer and he hardly read the bible. He was on his way to profess to be an atheist because he said that God had not dealt kindly with him at all.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sun was up so early. He turned and turned on his bed. He heard a bang on his door. “Get up! Get up!” His mum yelled. “Don’t you know today is Sunday and we are already late for church”, she roared. Kwesi Annan reluctantly and lazily got up from his bed. Sat at the corner of his bed. Looked up at his old clock firmly fixed on the wall. “It is getting late”, he mumbled. But he thought, as usual, “it’s going to be the long, boring church service.”
He stood straight, heaved a thunderous sigh and headed for the bathroom. He took his toothbrush and smeared his toothpaste from the tip of the brush to the end. After he had finished washing down, he heard his mother shout that they are going ahead and he shouldn’t be late because it was the first Sunday of the month. It was a Catholic church. The first Sunday of the month is a revered one. The congregants receive the blessings of the Father to usher them into the new year.
Back in his room, he donned his all-white long sleeve shirt and his tie. He tucked in so neatly in his pair of grey trousers over his pair of polished black shoes. He looked in the mirror and combed his all-grown unkempt hair. His bible was resting at the edge of his bed. It had not been touched for a week. At least, he held it every Sunday. The Bible hadn’t seen too much reading throughout the week. The church isn’t far from their house, just about a 15-minute walk.
The church started exactly at 10:00 in the morning. He got to the church on time before they started the church service. His mother was one of the leaders of the church and so almost everyone knew Kwesi Annan. Besides, he exchanges the usual pleasantries with almost everyone before leaving the church premises.
Not long afterwards it was time for the sermon and Father Elijah walked unto the pulpit. “Good morning, this is a new day the Lord has made, we should all rejoice and be glad in it”, he proclaimed. The church shouted in a chorus, “Amen”.
“I had prepared a sermon about a week ago to preach, but just two days ago God dropped a topic in my spirit to deliver today”. He spoke. I don’t know why but I have to be directed by the Spirit. Hallelujah, he said in a baritone voice.
Today’s sermon is about how to deal with “Negative Thoughts,” he said. The Bible verse shall be taken from Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. Our Lord admonishes us to cast all our burdens on him. Whatever situation you’re going through, don’t limit the divine manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Let Him lead you on the right path. As the Bible says in Matthew 6:27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”. Don’t harbour negative ideas that will lead you into depression and later develop into some negative consequences. Father Elijah preached.
Kwesi Annan straightened up and sat intently as though Father Elijah knew what he was going through and battling with, in life; although, he hadn’t echoed what he’s going through to Father Elijah or even his mother. Nevertheless, Father Elijah had talked about what he was struggling with.
Father Elijah ended his sermon with an altar call. A sizeable number of the congregation stood up and walked in calculated steps in a sombre mood to the front to give their lives to Christ. Father Elijah laid his hands on them and led them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal saviour. They repeated individually, “From today, I accept Jesus as my Lord and personal saviour. I would take up my cross and follow Him all the days of my life. So help me God. Amen”.
All this while, Kwesi Annan kept on pondering over the sermon that had just been delivered. He usually greeted people after church but this time around he left as soon as they closed from church without saying even a word to anyone.
