Have faith – it’s better than you think
I’m sick of reading the news. The drumbeat of negativism is relentless. And the local TV news is the worst. To listen to it, you’d think that we should all join Job, curse God and die. Listen to it:
“Iraq is a mess. Afghanistan is worse.”
“Global warming will kill your grandkids if it doesn’t kill you.”
“The subprime mortgage crisis means the economy is going in the tank.”
“Obama is callow and McCain is old and crusty.”
“Gas prices are high and going higher.”
“Hurricane season is coming, prepare to die.”
Let me give you a clue – if you’re looking for problems, you don’t have to do anything, they’ll find you. But if you want encouragement, or even reality, you’re not going to find it on the local news. You’re probably not going to find it around the water cooler at work, or even in many of our churches (where the best response they’ve got seems to be, “Pray for Jesus to return, because this world is a lost cause”).
Is the world winding down or is it getting brighter? Maybe it’s time for a paradigm shift. Here’s something that may surprise you: The world is probably doing a lot better than you think – you’re just listening to the wrong people. If you were able to tap into God’s news network, here are some of the things you might hear:
- More people are following Jesus now than at any point in history.
- In many countries in Africa, a majority of the population is Christian.
- Powerful revivals have swept through countries like Mozambique and Nigeria.
- The church in China is, by some estimates, up over 120 million and growing.
- Books like Megashift detail a wave of miracles going around the world.
So what’s reality? I think it depends on what you believe about God’s master plan and who you’re listening to. Andrew Shearman likes to say, “We don’t belong to some dipstick little operation – He’s the Lord of the harvest. And the harvest is the curtain of history.”
If you’re feeling low and angst-filled today, I suggest you consider turning the dial.
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Dear Dadi Seth,
Greetings!
We are praying for you,your ministry,your country.
God is good God and He will be do for His glory.Dear Dadi,Please pray for our new goverment because daily the prieces is going high and it is very difficult for the people to face these kids of difficulties.
With love and blessings.
Ps.Emmanuel.
Oh yes, Amen to that! It’s the little words that make all the difference………yes, the world’s in a rough place, food prices are high, oil prices are high etc, but God…..
But God….
Yet God…..
Valleys may look dark – He says they will – but He never leaves us alone in them. He’s either on the throne or He isn’t. He’s either God or He isn’t. He is either fully victorious or He isn’t.
My vote is that He is………
Great to read some glass-half-full this morning – thanks Seth! lol Cxx
I read Megashift twice because it was so unbelieveably good and encouraging. My wife also read it, and we were left thinking, “Wow, God’s doing A LOT of great things around the world while we’re here on the sidelines……Let’s get in the game!”
I LOVE your comment Gabe!! 🙂
God IS doing a lot of great things…and with the T.V. out my house and my focus on Him I have never had a better perspective. I just spent 2 weeks at camp and saw MANY great things and heard awesome things from God as well. God is on the move and by the grace of God I am no longer on the sidelines!! 🙂
And I love your comment Christi… the T.V out of your house eh? Seems you killed yourself there… With your “I” on the cross, you surely can’t remain on the sidelines. May it be so for all that spend time on this blog site.
Thanx Seth, it’s been mighty slow this July… needed these words to kick-start my engine and follow God’s footprints as He leads in the direction of war.
i love it – i think its so important to speak positive truth out…versus speaking out fears all the time that just become self-fulfilling prophecies.
I spent half the day yesterday reading Megashift…got me so pumped that I had trouble sleeping.
God IS doing amazing things! Two of our newly adopted Liberian kiddos (yeah, we’re up to 13 kids now….) have recently been healed of things doctors were all fatalistic about. It’s quite fun to trust God more than statistics!