What to Do When the News Is Overwhelming

Dear Friends, 

I don’t know about you, but I can be sucked into the media scrolls and screens. In this season, perhaps more than ever, we need to remember where to set our minds. Enjoy this excerpt from From Recovery to Restoration: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in Crisis today. 

Set Your Minds on Things Above

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Colossians 3:1, ESV

We scroll through our social media feeds, searching Twitter, Facebook, Instagram—for what?  We glue our eyes to the news at any and every hour of the day, filling our minds with words and words and words from people we don’t know and barely trust. Pandemic panic has set in, and our world is seeking hope and help, but the apostle Paul suggests we may be looking in the wrong places. 

Paul reminds us that we have been raised with Christ; that reality changes everything about where we should look for hope and help. He tells us to “seek the things above, where Christ is…” (Colossians 3:1). To seek the things above is to seek the one who first sought us—Jesus. To seek the things above is to look first for the things that Jesus cares most about, his kingdom and his righteousness. As we seek the things above, we find provision for all of our needs, and our anxiety subsides (Matthew 6:25-34).

Not only must we seek the things above, we must “set [our] minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). We must “set our minds,” or “fix our minds.” To fix our minds is to have the intense concentration of a world-champion chess player, to have the laser focus of a brain surgeon. For Christians, it means that instead of fixating on non-stop news, we instead fill our minds with the things of Christ, his rule and his reign, his glory and his grace.

Setting our minds on things above does not mean that we ignore the things of this earth. It simply means that we begin by seeking Christ in Scripture, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. As we set our compass on Christ, we remain on course to live as he has called us to live on this earth. During crisis, moms and medical people, delivery workers and truck drivers will focus their minds and energy on the earthly tasks that need to be accomplished to care for those they serve. But they will do so while praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Finally, setting our minds on the things above will help us remember that the day of restoration is coming. When our lives are centered on Christ, we are always scanning the horizon, watching for his return, waiting for the day when we will live with him in the new heavens and the new earth. In that day, in that place, we will “appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4), living and loving forever in his perfect peace.

Prayer

Lord Christ,

Draw our eyes away from our screens and toward your glorious presence on the throne next to our heavenly Father. Help us to set our minds on you and seek to live out your love on this earth. In your glorious name. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read Colossians 3:1-3; Matthew 6:25-34.

Listen to “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” by Lauren Daigle.

For Reflection

Do you find yourself filling your mind with things of this earth during crisis? Make a list of three ways you could set your mind on things above and schedule times on your calendar to do them.