Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m guessing you know that the world is batship crazy right now: Wars and rumours of wars (Matthew 24:6); earthquakes setting off chain-reactions of town-swallowing landslides and a cluster of volcanoes taking deep breaths to blast anytime soon; massive storms and flooding in places unprepared for such weather. And those topics are just the tips of melting icebergs.
We could focus on such things and despair; it’s no wonder that depression soars, in some places as high as 1 in 6 people globally. Positive news is elusive – not because it isn’t there, but because it doesn’t grab our emotions like negative or shocking news does; this is why it’s dominant in news reports, newspapers or YouTube thumbnails. Drama sells. But it’s also selling anti-depressants.
But I have good news: Focus is what it’s all about.
If we focus on something, that’s what we’ll begin to see everywhere. Take the example of a puzzle: When you’re working on a particular section and looking for blue, you’ll begin to see blue on pieces you hadn’t noticed before. If we focus on the negative and the bad things happening in the world, we’ll begin to see only that, and it’s no wonder we feel blue.
The Bible has a lot of wisdom, even if you don’t yet believe in God. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to focus on good things: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” The message of Jesus is called the Good News for many reasons; I encourage you to explore the Bible. If you prefer to watch rather than read, I highly recommend The Chosen series – all free online, in any language! All you need to do is sign up, and you’ll have access to the series and all the extras that have already been released – five seasons so far, with two to come.
My husband and I read a devotional every evening, and one of the elements is this: “As I end this day in God’s safe keeping, I count three blessings before my sleeping.” It causes us to focus on the good things of the day; sometimes it can be as simple as, “I was able to get up without assistance, dress myself, and walk and breathe on my own.” All things that most people take for granted… until they’re gone. They are tremendous blessings and not inevitable or unimportant! It’s a good way to end the day… focusing on upsies, not downsies.
There is a lot of good news happening around the world, but as I said, it can be elusive. Thankfully, there are people out there focused on finding it for us and reporting about it! Here’s a link to the appropriately named Good News YouTube channel that brings a dose of good reports from around the world, from ecology to breakthroughs in science and medicine. Another channel worth watching is called Planet Wild, which focuses on restoration and conservation, putting people’s money to immediate use in projects focused on the environment and ecology. They show the progress and report on positive changes.
When you hear about or watch something that’s good news, please let me know in the comments below which story captures your imagination or encourages you!
Take a few minutes every day to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.
Stephanie Huesler 