October 8, 2024 Devo

I was listening to a woman talk the other day who was sharing about the faithfulness of God. She had been in the hospital ten different times this year because of a chronic illness. You could tell by how she moved and how she sat rather than stood that she was hurting. But she had an infectious smile, and I saw her speak encouragement to person after person as they walked by. As she shared a bit of her story to the audience, she didn’t complain or even talk about how hard her journey has been. She simply shared that God is good, and she was there for anyone going through a tough time. She said she’d be happy to listen and to pray.
I thought of her as I read our passage for today. It says that Jesus went around “announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.” Did you catch that? Jesus lived in the time of Roman occupation. The government was evil and cruel. They often oppressed the Jews and later would unleash unholy persecution upon the Christians. But Jesus didn’t go around complaining about the government. He didn’t tell people how horrible things were or how bad the world was becoming. I think He knew people already understood that part. What He did do was talk about the love and faithfulness of God and how GOOD the Kingdom of God is. He talked about how the hurting could find healing and how the lost could be found. He talked about how our past could be forgiven and our future could become bright. He didn’t feel the need to point out to people how bad they were. Instead, He told them what God could do and how good they could become. No wonder He drew crowds wherever He went.
So what are YOU announcing these days? Are you a bad news spreader or a Good News announcer? Do you feel the need to keep pointing out how horrible the world is to people who probably already understand that, or do you share about how good God is and how much better He can make our lives? Do you find yourself frequently whining and complaining or encouraging and being thankful? Remind yourself today that the Gospel is “Good News,” not Bad News. Make sure you’re announcing the right stuff. That’s God’s Word for you today.