Good News – In a Weary World
Let me ask you a question: when somebody says do you want the good news or the bad news, which to you opt to hear first?
According to a 2013 study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, most people like to give good news first and follow it with bad news, but most people actually like to receive bad news first so that they can end on a high.
About 2000 years ago, a bunch of shepherds were hanging out in a field, and suddenly an angel appeared to them with Good News. Great news in fact! It was news of a Saviour who had been born in Bethlehem. So great was the Saviour that all the angels were singing His praise! And so the shepherds went off and found this little boy, and they worshipped Him.
Good news! Maybe you could do with some good news today.
Lincoln's Light: Finding Hope in the Pages of Adversity
Abraham Lincoln, president of the USA in the 1860s, was a known Christian. And one of the dressmakers who worked in the White House during his term as president wrote a book called Behind the Scenes, talking about her experiences there. She wrote this in one of the chapters:
“One day he came into the room where I was fitting a dress for Mrs. Lincoln. His step was slow and heavy, and his face sad. Like a tired child he threw himself upon the sofa, and shaded his eyes with his hands. He was a complete picture of dejection. Mrs. Lincoln, observing his troubled look, asked:
“‘Where have you been?’
“‘To the War Department,’ was the brief, almost sullen answer.
“‘Any news?’ she asked.
“‘Yes, plenty of news, but no good news. It is dark, dark everywhere.’
“He reached forth one of his long arms and took a small Bible from a stand near the head of the sofa, opened the pages of the Holy Book, and soon was absorbed in reading them. A quarter of an hour passed, and on glancing at the sofa the face of the President seemed more cheerful. The dejected look was gone, and the countenance was lighted up with new resolution and hope.
Discovering Hope: The Good News in Dark Times
I wonder if you feel like Lincoln sometimes: there’s plenty of news, but no good news. It’s dark all around. Wearied by the world’s sorry state, you just want to collapse on a couch somewhere and put your face in your hands.
I want to encourage you today to do what Lincoln did. To go to the words of this precious book. Because even if there is no good news in the world, there is good news in the Bible!
It’s the same news that the angels brought to the shepherds that dark night. It’s the news that though the world is dark: there is peace! There is joy! There is salvation! There is a light that shines in the darkness!
Friends, have you heard the good news? Whatever you’re going through today, do what Lincoln did and immerse yourself in God’s Holy Book. As you read it, the dark cloak the world threw over you will fall off, and the light of Jesus will shine from your face because of His good news.
