Do things seem discouraging to you lately? It can come from a variety of factors. Being in a very well connected world, thanks to the internet, we see and hear of many news and stories that may disappoint us and make us wonder whether things are going to get worse.
This can range from the economy with the media telling us there might be a recession coming due to low wage growth and people not spending. On the world news front, we see conflict, war and terror. On a personal level, there may be events happening in our lives that are putting us in stressful or emotionally draining situations.
How can we make sense of all of this? What should we be thinking about when faced with bad news around us? How do we cope with everything that is going around us?
Understanding our context
One of the first thing we need to do when we hear discouraging (or even good) news is to pause, not immediately react and seek to understand the context and a bigger picture. This is so that we do not act rashly and later regret our actions.
News does not just mean the mainstream media. It could be information that a colleague passes onto you, or a friend who mentions something in passing. We need to be aware of potential “bubbles” of influences that we are in, as not being informed of a different opinion or the other side, we can mislead ourselves to make wrong choices.
An example could be in the workplace. Your colleague might have been abrupt and impolite to you and other colleagues might have been telling you the same thing. It could very well be true that they are a jerk, but if we give them the benefit of the doubt and have fruitful conversations with them, we might find that they are having a rough day with little sleep and dealing with issues at home, therefore impatient with everything. We still need to be on the lookout for repeated behaviour as it could potentially constitute as workplace bullying or harassment.
Rightly or wrongly, we need to exercise discernment about what the media reports on, and what our friends and colleagues say. At the end of the day, we are all imperfect and will sometimes get things wrong.
By learning the context, it helps us to have a better understanding and appreciation of the events that are happening around us and can (not always), put us at ease with some things and have one less thing to worry about.
Understanding our place in the bigger picture
We also need to understand how everything fits in the bigger picture. Whenever I read or watch documentaries of nature or biology, I find myself amazed at how each plant, insect, animal plays a part in our ecosystem and circle of life.
For example, bees are critical to many things including biodiversity, pollination of plants and crops, preserving ecological balance as well as helping our farming economy. Understanding this, gives me a better appreciation of the role they play (despite the fact that their stings could cause an allergic reaction!).
If we try and take this approach and look to understand what is God’s big picture for the world, it gives us a glimpse of how the events happening around us might fit into his bigger picture. At church, we have been doing a series of sermons on the Book of Daniel and exploring how and where hope is found in an ever changing and hostile world.
In this book of the Bible, Daniel finds himself with multiple changes in government from King Jehoiakim of Israel, to King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, to Belshazzar to Darius facing challenge after challenge to his faith in God. (Daniel, chapters 1 to 6).
Daniel’s response each time was to trust in God as he understood God’s big plan and how powerful and in control God is over everything (Daniel chapter 2, verses 19 to 49). In Daniel’s case, he prophesised the fall of the Babylonian kingdom and knew that there were more successive kingdoms to come and that ultimately it is all willed by God. His friends also trusted in God, choosing to worship God and not a golden image. (Daniel chapter 3).
What do we hope for?
Understanding the context in which we are and how it fits into God’s big plan to bring people who do not know Him to be followers of Christ, can give us a lot of reassurance and guidance in our decision making.
Whilst there may be turmoil with crime, conflict and doom and gloom, let us continue to put our hope and trust not in things and events of this world, but instead to the promises that God made to us: that Jesus is coming back again to be the judge and ruler of this world.
Let us not worry, understand our circumstances and be reassured of the big picture. Let us also be prayerful, seek God in all that we do and live lives that are distinctly Christian so as to spread the good news of Christ and to bring people into His kingdom.
Brandon Tsang is a Sydney-based writer currently working in IT. He studied Marketing and Economics at UNSW and loves to spend his spare time hiking, playing volleyball or watching Netflix.
Brandon Tsang’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/brandon-tsang.html