I got a bit of bad news today. I thought and thought … it was surreal. It was one of those moments that I kept replaying over and over in my mind. Did this really just happen? As I got in my car, I started to cry as I drove down the road. “How do I answer this, God?”, I asked. It wasn’t a moment that I expected a response but wouldn’t any good Dad reply? I heard His voice emphatically say, “You answer bad news with The Good News!” Hmm…He is right and right on time!
I started thinking of what scriptures applied to this current situation and began to feel hopeful. I think the word hope has become worn out, over-used, abused, misused and, as a result, diminished in power. Media, and the like, have trivialized a word that happens to be the foundation of our faith. As Christians, we believe that hope transitions to faith in a God that moves on behalf of His children.
One of my all-time favorite movies is Pollyanna. I know, so I’m corny and old-fashioned, but it’s so sweet and has this message that I think of sometimes. I watched it recently and loved the part where this minister was preaching the severe judgment of God. He was preaching a hell-fire and brimstone message when Pollyanna told him that there were over 800 Bible verses on rejoicing and being glad. She continued to quote her father who said that if we look hard enough we can find the good in others. Her joyful message transformed a once bitter townspeople into The Glad Town. I know, I know - only in the movies!
But honestly, it got me thinking. It’s so easy to find the bad in people and problems, but it takes greater effort to find the good.
Pollyanna played the glad game that taught her to always accentuate the positive in any situation. I’ve played the sad game, the mad game, or the “see the bad” game but too often, don’t play the glad game! It takes the perspective of God to see with the eyes of faith, hope and love. I have often said that growth is about perspective but Christian growth is about gaining God’s perspective. I ask myself, “How does God see this situation, or how does He see this person?”
When we see through His eyes, hope has a chance. When we begin to look, we discover faith that believes. When we believe, the impossible can become possible. God is the “I am that I am.” He is Jehovah! He is looking at our circumstances and saying something, and all we have to do is find out what that is. He says a great deal in the pages of His word and in the recesses of our hearts - He did not leave us alone to handle anything. God is the one that can help but moreover He wants to help and will help. To quote another popular phrase, “The Good News” is that He can…Yes, He Can!
