You know the feeling. You pick up your phone or turn on the TV and you’re immediately bombarded with bad news—tragedy, sickness, fear, depression, betrayal. And it’s not just the news. Bad news can get personal too. Maybe you got ghosted by someone you really liked or failed a huge test. Whether it’s on the news or in your notifications, it can seem as though everything you read and watch sends one clear message: the world is bad.
You probably get that message a hundred times a day. How could you help but feel anxious and afraid when everything around you says you should be? And how can you believe that God is good when everything seems… so bad?
Those are good questions and, trust us, you’re not the only one asking them. Together, we’re going to spend the next few weeks getting some answers. Throughout this Journey, we’ll be reading Psalm 23—which is all about the goodness of God in a bad world. Go ahead and pull it up now.
See that first line? The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. All that I need? Yeah, right! I’m sure you can think of a few things that you need. (Let’s be honest, more than a few…) Here’s the thing: we can get so caught up in all the bad news that we’re hearing that we don’t see the good stuff. We don’t see how God is giving us what we really need. We get so distracted by the badness of the world, that we don’t see the goodness of God.
We’ll talk more later on about what it really means to have all that we need (hint: it doesn’t mean you’re Tik Tok famous and drive a G-Wagen), but right now we’re going to do a little challenge together. Grab a piece of paper or open up the notes app on your phone. For the next three minutes write down everything you’re thankful for. Could be major stuff like your family or your friends or it could be something as simple as a video that made you laugh or pizza. We’re all thankful for pizza.
When time’s up, look at your list. What does it tell you about the goodness of God? Maybe it tells you that God’s a good king who’s protecting you and guiding you. Maybe it tells you that he’s a good dad who’s taking care of you and providing for you. No right answer here… just think about it.
When you believe that God’s really good, it changes your whole life. Interested?
