Three Things That Give Me Hope – Part 2
Have you ever heard the saying that "it can be hard to see the forest through the trees?" To me, that phrase has meant that it can be easy to get bogged down in the details and lose the big perspective. That can be true in our journey too.
Sometimes, we get so bogged down in the day to day...the researching, the appointments, the (fill in the blank) and we miss the good that is happening. The life giving things. The hope filled things.
Does this sound familiar?
When I lift weights, those muscles I am using grow stronger. This is the same with how we think. When we focus on the negative, those negative pathways in the brain become stronger. It is harder to see the good.
You may be able to recall conversations with people where the negative pathways have become really strong. In those interactions, it can be hard to steer the conversation in a positive direction and you just leave the conversation feeling blah and hopeless. The converse is true when you sit with people who are joy-filled.
This idea of building a positive, hope-filled mindset is a Biblical idea.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
It can be hard to see the good things going on in the world and more specifically, it can be hard to see the good things that are going on in your life…especially if you are living from one crisis to the next.
Sarah has recently began asking each person in our family what one good thing is that we appreciate today. Sometimes a family member shares something big. Sometimes it's a rougher day and the good thing is that the sun is shining.
Sometimes finding the good becomes easier when we look outside of our circumstances and the day to day. It depends where you look though. I wouldn’t recommend looking at the news or even at Facebook.
The best way to find the good, is to look for where God is at work. Find a mission organization or nonprofit that aligns with a cause you are passionate about and sign up for their newsletter. You will have stories of how God is at work sent straight to your inbox or delivered to your front door. Also, find positive people with whom you can associate.
When we start seeing those good things that are happening in our lives and when we start seeing the good things that God is doing around the world, it starts to reframe how we think. It starts to restore hope.
This week I would like to challenge you to look for one good thing that is happening in your life each day.
Written by Jonathan McGuire
