Staying Positive in a Negative World

We live in a negative world. Just turn on the television news or listen to the radio and what do you hear and see? Occasionally you will hear something positive, but not too often. It is mostly bad news. Several years ago singer Anne Murray had a hit song titled “Little Good News”, which described what we heard then and what we hear today:

I rolled out this morning
Kids had the morning news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin’ ’bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin’ ’bout the bad economy,
It’s gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy

There’s a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story’s more than I can stand,
Just once how I’d like to see the headline say
“Not much to print today, can’t find nothin’ bad to say,” because

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD’ed , nobody burned a single buildin’ down,
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain,
We sure could use a little good news today.

In the Straightforward magazine and on the Straightforward radio program you will hear good news—the same message that we read about in Mark 1:14: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ’s return and the establishment of the government of God on this earth, which will solve all the problems we have on the earth today. But as Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24 false ministers, wars, famines, diseases, earthquakes and persecutions will come before His return, “but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). Those that will make it in these difficult times are those who keep going and don’t focus on the negative because they have hope of something better ahead.

A future and a hope

How then can we stay positive? And what produces a positive attitude? The place to begin is to come to know the true God. Does He exist and is the Bible His inspired word? When we have proven that God exists and that the Bible is His inspired word, it changes everything. We will begin to understand and see the great purpose in life, why we were born and what the future holds. We will begin to see and understand why there are evils and sorrows in the world. God does not want people to suffer: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). God wants for us to have peace and a future and hope, but we must do our part to get to know God: “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (vv 12–13).

We seek Him and search for Him with prayer and Bible study—praying to know Him, praying for understanding and then studying His word, which is the mind of God in print. Those who come to know God and trust in Him are promised “perfect peace” (Isa. 26:3). This peace will bring calmness, assurance and a positive outlook, knowing that God is in charge and He is guiding and allowing world events.

Will you obey?

When we seek to know God and are studying His word, we will be faced with a decision—will we obey what God says? To do so will be to go the opposite direction of this world, but it will be the way that will bring about positive changes in your life. Jesus told His disciples that the way mankind has chosen would end in total destruction unless God intervened: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24: 22). This world is going the “way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). That is why so much of the news today is negative. God is left out of the picture, and Satan, who is the god of this age, has deceived this world into believing that the way they are going is the right way (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9).

In Matthew 7:13–14 Jesus described the two ways of life and where they lead. One was the way that seems right to man, thinking it to be the easier way, but it leads to destruction. The other way described in verse 14 is difficult but leads to life, and few know how to find it or want to follow through with it. At the creation of man, God gave Adam and Eve a choice of which way they could go and explained the results of both ways. They chose the wrong way, and man has continued to go that way ever since. God will not force you to choose His way, but you are forced to choose.

Choosing God’s way as revealed in the Bible will produce positive consequences. You will begin to see that God tells us we are to obey His law. The world is going in a way of disobedience to God’s law and thinks that the law of God is harsh and a burden to keep, when in fact keeping God’s law brings true happiness.

A positive law

King Solomon after having tried to experience everything life has to offer, while leaving God out of the picture, came to the conclusion that what really works and brings happiness is to “fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc. 12:13 KJV). Obedience to God’s law, His ten commandments, brings happiness and positive results in our life.

Just take some time and read over the ten commandments and ask yourself this question with each one of the commandments: What would take place in this world if everyone would start obeying the commandments? The consequences would be only positive—no more murder, no more adultery, no more deception, people would be thankful instead of being covetous, everyone would honor and respect their parents and more and more wonderful changes would take place. It takes more than just thinking about it. Each one must take the steps to actually, with God’s help, begin to obey God. Most today will not heed and do these things, but in the future our merciful God will deal with all who will not heed now. When the Kingdom of God comes to this earth, mankind, after going his own way and reaping the negative consequences, will be ready to listen and obey. Positive results will begin to take place and will continue for all eternity.

If we will heed these instructions now, positive results can begin to take place in our lives now. If you will begin to really seek God and His way, and then begin to obey Him, you will be able to have a positive outlook in this negative world. You will know that there is a God in heaven that is guiding and helping you, and He is guiding events in this world. You will also know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and a bright future lies ahead. As God blesses our obedience, things will go well for us and we will have an inner joy and happiness, even in this negative and discouraging world.

Will you heed?