Atmosphere is Everything

ATMOSPHERE IS EVERYTHING.  What you feel, hear, see and experience affects your mood, feelings and thoughts immediately and evasively. Ever walk into your kitchen and start to feel hungry?  Atmosphere.  Ever feel energetic and happy on a bright warm sunny day or sleepy and unmotivated on a grey cloudy rainy day?  Atmosphere.  God uses atmosphere to evoke awe, wonder, worship, fear and trembling.  Just read Exodus 24 or Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4.  Use atmosphere to your advantage.  For a long time I kept my home office in my bedroom.  There was the perfect nook and space, my clutter was hidden from guests, it was quiet and free of distractions, but I never seemed to get anything done.  It wasn't until I moved my computer into the corner of my bright kitchen that I began to really maximize my productivity.  Bedroom was for sleeping and relaxing--not the atmosphere for work.

When I have my devotion and personal time with God I start it by playing my favorite praise and worship music--often long before I actually begin.  I don't have to feel like worshiping and reading my Bible but after a time of praise and worship music filling my house it sets an atmosphere and eventually I want to worship God and be in His presence.

I also don't make the decision to stay home from church on a Sunday morning when I'm snug and warm under my blankets.  That's the wrong atmosphere to make a decision.  I know if I get to church-just pulling into the parking lot is where it starts for me, and start meeting friends and then the praise and worship kicks in, that's when I know and am happy I'm there.  The atmosphere changed my attitude.

I limit the amount of talk radio and news I listen and watch.  Too much of that and I'm stressed out and mad at the world.  I pay attention and monitor the kinds of music I listen too.   I understand the power of atmosphere.

What atmospheres in your life do you need to change to improve your attitude, productivity, quality of life?  Sometimes something as simple as picking up and cleaning a messy house can create a positive atmosphere.  Other times it's the people we are around that are pulling us down, making us depressed and negative.  Change it! 

King David understood the power of atmosphere when he penned Psalm 119:28, 

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

He knew his victory was not in wallowing in his sorrow and pain-that would only magnify it, but in meditating and getting into the Word of God. 

Speaking about attitude, Chuck Swindoll was convinced life is only 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we react to it.   John Maxwell said, "It's not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude." I'll add one more spoke in that wheel.  The number one way to change your attitude is to change your atmosphere.  Harness the power of atmosphere in your life and reap the rewards.