Focusing on the good

They say bad things happen in threes, but lately it seems bad things have been happening by the truckload. Almost every day I hear another sad story — cancer in people of all ages, difficult situations with family members, children losing parents, parents losing children — the list goes on. When it seems everything is going wrong, it’s easy to lose sight of truth. 

In my Bible study last week, we talked about how God is always at work in the lives of His children, even in turbulent times. Sometimes it requires us to look a little harder, but the good is always there, and that’s what we are to focus on.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble [or good], whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

This verse always reminds me of when a cousin of mine passed away several years ago. It was a very sad death (not that any aren’t sad), and I couldn’t travel to the funeral because I was in the last weeks of my pregnancy with Kate. Instead, I wrote his wife a letter. In it, I mentioned the above verse from Philippians. I told her that regardless of the tragedy of his death, I chose to remember him in his kitchen cooking up delicious meals for our family’s Christmas Eve dinners at their house. I’d remember him as a loving husband and a wonderful father to his children. I chose to dwell on the good things rather than on the bad. 

Focusing on the good can also apply in situations that are less serious, but nonetheless difficult at the time. I recently made the drive back to Birmingham without my husband, Matt, after visiting family in Mobile. Both girls were in the back seat, and while everything started out fine, the atmosphere in the car began to dwindle around Evergreen. Tempers flared, naps were short, snack bags were empty, diapers were full, and someone had a major meltdown at a gas station in Prattville (it wasn’t me, although I thought about it). 

As I stood there facing my screaming 4 year old and a parking lot full of staring eyes, I asked myself, “What is the good here?” I realized I’d learned a few things — pack more food than I think I’ll need, don’t forget the milk cups, and don’t make the 4 year old use the potty before she says she needs to go.

What focusing on the good doesn’t mean is that the difficult thing itself is necessarily good — cancer is still bad, death is still hard — but it means Jesus is there working good in our life through the bad thing. My mind goes haywire when I hear difficult stories from people I know: What if my friend’s mom’s prognosis isn’t good? What if another friend’s pregnancy has complications? What if our family is the next to hear bad news? But truth counteracts these negative thoughts. 

What’s true (and therefore good) is that underneath us are God’s everlasting arms, and we can’t fall lower than that. His strong arms are always below us, holding us, not letting us fall. We will pass through the waters, but they will not sweep over us. We will pass through the fires, but we will not be burned. That’s both true and good, and it’s enough to get us through everything from scary diagnoses to long car rides with unhappy kids. 

Lauren can be reached at LaurenKDenton@gmail.com. You can also find her tweeting writerly things on Twitter.