I opened the newspaper today and was immediately drawn into the tragic news of the dozens of people killed at the soccer match in Egypt, the fighting in Syria, the mud-slinging among American presidential candidates, and the four Britons who admitted to a bomb plot on the London Stock Exchange. And yet, the more I read the more I began finding God in the bad news.
How could this be? Because he is the ‘good news’—the only one we can turn to when we’re overwhelmed with the condition of our world. As the creator of the universe and the author of life, he is the one who rescues us from sin, heals our hurts, covers us with love, and restores us to sanity. God is not a dictator—so bad things will happen to good people and bad––but he is ever available to help us through our distress.
Now, instead of being upset and depressed over current events I am making it a habit to turn to God for guidance and grace and the wisdom to do his will. At times such as these I take comfort in the Serenity Prayer of the 12 Step Programs (originally written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr).
“God grant us the serenity to accept the things we
cannot change, courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”
We cannot turn our backs on the world. We are part of it. But we can pray for ourselves and our fellowman, and in doing so we will be finding God in the bad news—and in the good!
Enjoy this inspiring You Tube video of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion singing “The Prayer.”
©Karen O’Connor. Karen is an author, writing mentor, and frequent contributor to Finding God Daily Visit Karen on the web at www.karenoconnor.com
©Karen O’Connor (www.karenoconnor.com). Karen contributes regularly to Finding God Daily. She is a multi-book author, magazine article writer, public speaker and instructor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.
