Sharing Light

Okay, it’s pretty clear that I love to read Christian books written by women.  I’ve been sharing them with you as I discover them.

I also love blogs and social media accounts that inspire and lead people to Christ.  Of course I would, it’s what I hope to do with mine.  But I’ve noticed a trend all over the internet.  It’s not new but I feel God nudging me to bring some light to it.

There’s a lot of whining.

I remember when everyone in college was watching “Thirtysomething” and my mom said to me, “Why are they all so whiney? They are healthy and beautiful and have great lives, what are they complaining about all the time and why would you want to watch it?”

Now my mom is a cheerful, “everything is fine” person and that’s not always the truth, is it? However, I get her point.

When we dwell on what’s wrong, we will be stuck in what’s wrong.

When we meditate and think about and talk about and read/write about the things that are right, then we will be more hopeful and content.

We must train our minds.

We must take every thought captive for Christ.

We have a rule in our house that a certain “news show” is not allowed.  The host sets out to make his viewers angry. Honestly, his montages about anything will have you believing the venom he is spewing in no time. Even the most critical “news” watcher can fall down a dark hole watching that guy. I just can’t. He’s not allowed. Bad for the soul.

I’m quoting my mom a lot lately but here’s another gem from her:  “Crap goes in, crap comes out”. Amen?

My point is this. If you want to be hopeful, you can’t focus on all the things that are wrong.

Any conversation between Christians should be hopeful.  We don’t get to believe and understand grace and the Good News and walk around fearful and depressed.  Sure, we can have moments of sadness, confusion, despair, anger…all of it.  Sure, we can discuss with our friends and seek to understand and share stories to help others but those stories don’t help others unless they have a promise of hope in them.  Right?

If you think there is no hope, you are wrong. Jesus is your hope.  We know how the story ends friends.  Even in your sadness and challenges and wilderness seasons, you can claim victory.

We have to be the people telling the story of victory.  We can be the voice that leads others to freedom.  We don’t have to pretend everything is perfect, we can be real and authentic and compassionate but at a certain point, we have to encourage faith and hope and the promises of God.

The world needs truth tellers and hope spreaders.  So many people are pontificating about what we need. They are planning all the ways we can save ourselves.  It’s not more of US we need, it’s more of GOD.

We will always fall short of the glory of God.  Always. We have problems today because we are sinners. We will always be sinners. The conversation will never change until we get that, repent and receive God’s grace.

Our books, our words, our posts, our shows, our culture, all of it reflects the status of our hearts.  There is a lot of darkness there.  We have been talking about and writing about the darkness for a long time.

It’s high time we see the light. And share it.

©2016 Sue Bidstrup, All Rights Reserved Great Big YES™