While today’s study is going to focus on the spiritual atmosphere that we live in, it’s important to gain a better understanding of the natural atmosphere that we all live in every day. When you understand how our natural atmosphere works, you can better grasp the way that God wants us to shift our spiritual atmospheres.
When the earth’s atmosphere undergoes extreme changes, it doesn’t take long for us to notice the impact of those changes. For instance, when the atmosphere experiences a great deal of heat, it’s more than just hotter temperatures. These increased temperatures routinely lead to droughts and dangerous heat waves. Ironically, the same high atmospheric temperatures that can cause droughts can also cause intense storms and dangerous flooding like those that we have recently seen sweep across parts of the United States.
Conversely, colder atmospheric temperatures also have an impact on the way that we go about our daily routines. When temperatures get cold, the precipitation that falls comes down as snow, sleet, or ice instead of rain. Obviously, this leads to potentially dangerous road conditions and a host of other problems.
While there isn’t much that you can do to change the earth’s atmosphere, you have the power to shift your spiritual atmosphere. In the same way that the earth’s atmosphere can get too hot or too cold, you may notice that you live a spiritual life of extremes. Perhaps it feels like everything in your life is going perfectly right now. That’s wonderful news! However, it’s unlikely that things will always be that way. Just like the natural atmosphere, our spiritual atmospheres are always shifting. Maybe you’re in a place where things aren’t going so well. Perhaps you’re riddled with grief, pain, and sorrow right now. Maybe your spiritual atmosphere is one that is primarily filled with fear and doubt.
Take heart, child of God. He does not shy away from you in the moments where your atmosphere is less than desirable. In fact, He draws closer when we’re facing those scary times, as they generally cause us to draw closer to Him. However, He has given you the power to shift your atmosphere. If things aren’t operating the way that you’d like for them to right now in your atmosphere, today is a great day for you to make a change.
Back to the Basics
Philippians 4:6-7 (TPT)
Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.
It’s easy to face problems and assume that we need to figure out some sort of new, profound way to deal with them. For instance, if you’re facing an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, you may think that you need to make wholesale changes to your life to find some levels of certainty. What if the answer was found in returning to the basics?
It’s sad to say, but we often become so familiar with prayer that we forget its power. When you pray, God hears you and responds. It’s not negotiable, it’s not up for debate. When you pray, God listens. Not only does He listen, but like any good Father, He reacts.
If you’re facing a suboptimal atmosphere in your spiritual life, spend some time in true, heartfelt prayer. This goes far beyond a quick, “Lord, help me” kind of prayer. While there is nothing wrong with a desperate plea for help, when you need a change in your atmosphere, you need to spend time truly pouring your heart out to your Father in Heaven.
Paul said that we should be saturated in prayer. Saturation takes time. If you need a change in your atmosphere, commit to allowing yourself to become saturated by prayer. He wants to know every detail of your life. Once you’ve taken those two steps, Scripture promises us that we will experience God’s wonderful peace that goes beyond anything that humans can understand. Atmospheres change when God’s people pray.
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
1 Peter 4:8 (TPT)
Above all, constantly echo God’s intense love for one another, for love will be canopy over a multitude of sins.
It may seem counterintuitive to talk about loving others when we’re discussing how to change your atmosphere, but love is at the very heart of who God is. Afterall, Scripture teaches us that God is love (1 John 4:16).
In this passage, Peter promised that when we display Godly love towards other people, it serves as a canopy over a multitude of sins. Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s not uncommon for sin to be a cause of the issues in our atmosphere. However, when we look at this verse, we find something powerful about what Godly love does. Peter said that it serves as a canopy over a multitude of sins.
Do you know what else serves as a canopy? The atmosphere. One of the definitions of the word “atmosphere” according to Webster’s Dictionary is “the envelope of gasses surrounding a planet.” Whether you use the term envelope or canopy, the general concept remains the same, doesn’t it? Both of them are used to completely cover something. A canopy covers people or items, an envelope covers a piece of mail. God’s love covers a multitude of sins.
When you need a shift in your atmosphere, when you need a better canopy than the one that you’re living under, or you need to be completely enveloped in something, start showing God’s love to others. When you do, you will see a change in your atmosphere.
Surround Yourself with Atmosphere Changers
1 Corinthians 15:33 (TPT)
So stop fooling yourselves! Evil companions will corrupt good morals and character.
Finally, if you’re going to change your atmosphere, it’s important that you understand that you probably can’t do it on your own. To do something so major, it’s important that you have likeminded Christ followers on your team. What does your team look like right now? Spend some time truly evaluating the people that make up your “inner circle.”
Do you even have an inner circle? Some of us have been so damaged by people hurting us, lying to us, and betraying us that we’ve chosen to isolate. That’s not God’s design for His people. As long as there have been humans on the planet, God has wanted humanity connected with one another.
Are the people closest to you disciples, or are they far from God? This is an important question to ask yourself. In Psalm 1:1, we read about the blessings that come to those who surround themselves with believers as opposed to unbelievers.
This doesn’t mean that you never interact with the lost, but it means that your closest confidants are people who can help you pray for a change in your atmosphere. Spend some time evaluating who is closest to you and add people who can help you change your atmosphere.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I need a change in my atmosphere. I know that You don’t want me walking around in a state of fear, anxiety, doubt, and defeat. Help me to make the changes that I need to surround myself with likeminded people who I can rely on during these seasons. Show me opportunities to show Your love to others, because I know that Your love becomes a canopy, an atmosphere over me. I will see a change, and I will see victory. In Christ’s name, Amen.