How to Live Through All the Bad News

Last updated on: April 17, 2020 at 5:00 am by Mark Driscoll

How to Live Through All the Bad News 2020-04-15T17:07:06-04:00 Mark Driscoll

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Lately, all we are getting is constant bad news. The downside of technology is that our soul is continuously plugged in to all the pains, problems, and perils of the planet.

What is the human cost to constant bad news? In a 2016 Forbes magazine article, neuropsychologist Dr. Fabian van den Berg connected bad news to bad health saying, “It increases the risk for mental illnesses like anxiety and depression, will shorten your life, and will just make you weaker in general…the consequences can cause a domino effect, shifting the balances in your brain and entire body.”(1)

Just as your body needs clean water, so your soul needs good news. This is precisely what God’s Word says:

Proverbs 15:30 – …good news refreshes the bones.
Proverbs 25:25 – Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news…

Practically, you can see the power of good news in the stock market. On the days that good news comes out, the market goes up. On the days that bad news comes out, the market goes down. What is true of the stock market is also true of your soul. So, if you keep getting bad news instead of good news, you will be poisoning your soul and making yourself sick.

To combat the flood of bad news you need to do two things:

You need to manage your daily intake of bad news. You need to not live on your phone and check the news at set times every day.
You need to increase your daily intake of good news. You will have a hard time finding good news in the world, but you can find lots of good news in the Word.

The central news of Christianity is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word “gospel” literally means “good news”. The heart of Jesus’ ministry and message is found in Luke 4:43, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God…for I was sent for this purpose.”

On Sunday, I start a new sermon series called GOOD NEWS! I will be exploring in detail how God made the world very good, what has gone very wrong, what God has planned for us on the other side of this life, and what life will be like when Heaven comes to earth so we can live together with God forever. I would encourage you to join us, help me get the word out, and stay tuned for daily devotions of good news five days a week to strengthen your soul with the help, hope, and healing power of Jesus Christ.

How are you doing at managing your intake of bad news in this season?

(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/06/24/this-is-what-negativity-does-to-your-immune-system-and-its-not-pretty/#35f6e15f173b

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