When the News Leaves You Discouraged

by Michael Scheele and Christine Temko-Scheele

Watching the news can bring a flood of emotions.

There’s sadness over suffering, anger over injustice, concern about where society is headed, and frustration with people whose choices seem impossible to understand. Before long, the world becomes divided into “us” and “them,” and a question begins repeating itself:

“How can they possibly think that way?”

Both of us have experienced it.

When news coverage seems shaped by a worldview that stands against Scripture, it’s easy to become angry, discouraged, or even contemptuous. We worry about a culture moving farther from God and increasingly expecting human institutions to provide the security, morality, and hope that can ultimately come only from Him.

The news can also become a constant reminder of lost souls who need prayer.

Remaining informed isn’t wrong. Caring about what happens in the world isn’t a failure of faith. The question is what we do with the emotions that follow.

Natural Emotions Still Require a Godly Response

Fear, anger, grief, and discouragement are natural human emotions. We can’t always control our immediate response to what we see.

We can control what happens next.

Do we allow anger to become contempt?

Do we carry fear into every conversation?

Do we repeatedly consume the same troubling coverage until discouragement dominates our thoughts?

Do we argue with strangers online, or do we bring our concern before God?

Feeling an emotion isn’t the same as surrendering to it. The first reaction may come quickly, but our next action can be chosen deliberately.

We can pray. We can search the Scriptures. We can talk with trusted Christian friends. When a reasonable action is available, we can take it.

That might mean donating to a trustworthy ministry, writing respectfully to a representative, helping someone affected by the issue, or voting responsibly. These actions may not solve every problem, but they can turn helpless frustration into faithful participation.

After we’ve prayed and done what we reasonably can, we have to remember that the world remains in God’s hands.

Staying Informed Without Becoming Consumed

There may be no way to stay informed without encountering fear, anger, and discouragement. The world contains genuinely troubling things, and the news reports many of them.

The goal isn’t to escape every uncomfortable feeling. It’s to keep those feelings from directing our lives.

There’s a difference between knowing what happened and repeatedly watching the most distressing images. There’s a difference between understanding an issue and reading hundreds of angry reactions to it. There’s a difference between being responsibly informed and allowing a news cycle to occupy every quiet moment.

Healthy boundaries aren’t the same as ignorance.

We can choose when we check the news. We can turn off unnecessary alerts. We can select a few reliable sources instead of following every developing rumor. We can stop reading when we realize we’re no longer learning anything and are simply feeding our anger.

We don’t have to know every opinion offered about every event.

The world won’t become safer because we refreshed the page one more time.

What Are We Choosing to Dwell Upon?

Philippians 4:8 says:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

This doesn’t instruct Christians to stick their heads in the sand. Paul wasn’t pretending that evil, suffering, persecution, and injustice didn’t exist.

He was teaching us where to direct our sustained attention.

We should know the truth about what’s happening. We should care about people who are suffering. We should oppose what’s wrong and support what’s good. But we don’t have to give evil permanent residence in our thoughts.

Philippians 4 leads us toward joy, prayer, disciplined thinking, and contentment. A few verses later, Paul writes:

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Philippians 4:11

Contentment is learned.

It doesn’t come from living in a peaceful historical moment, trusting the right political leader, or receiving only encouraging news. It develops as we learn that God remains faithful in every circumstance.

If our peace depends on everything happening the way we believe it should, peace will always remain just beyond our reach.

Peace the World Can’t Provide

Jesus said in John 14:27:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The peace Christ gives isn’t the temporary relief of hearing that our preferred candidate won, our side prevailed, or a frightening situation resolved itself.

Those things may bring relief, but circumstances will change again.

Christ offers a peace that doesn’t depend upon a favorable news cycle. His peace rests upon who He is, what He has promised, and the assurance that nothing happening today has surprised Him or removed Him from His throne.

When the news begins stealing that peace, we have to be intentional about returning our attention to Him.

For us, that may include:

• Praying before reacting
• Reading the Bible before reading more commentary
• Writing honestly in a journal
• Talking through our concerns with mature Christian friends
• Taking a reasonable action when one is available
• Stepping away once we’ve learned what we need to know

These practices don’t make the troubling event disappear. They help put it back into its proper place beneath the authority of God.

Be Careful What Children Overhear

Children hear more than adults realize, and they process what they hear differently than we expect.

A slightly elevated conversation between parents may sound like an ordinary political discussion to us. To a child, it can sound as though something terrible is about to happen.

A passing remark about war, violence, elections, crime, or economic trouble may become the foundation of a nightmare.

That doesn’t mean parents must hide every difficult subject. Children need truthful answers presented in a way appropriate for their age. They also need to hear more than what’s wrong.

They need to hear that their parents are praying.

They need to know that adults are responsible for handling adult concerns.

They need reassurance that they’re safe in this moment.

Most importantly, they need to hear that God remains in control.

Pay attention not only to what you intentionally tell your children, but also to the atmosphere created by what they overhear. If every conversation about the world is filled with panic, rage, or contempt, they may learn that fear is the natural Christian response to uncertainty.

We want them to see something different.

We want them to see Christians who care deeply, pray faithfully, act responsibly, and still trust God.

Look to the Lord

Micah 7:7 says:

“Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

That verse doesn’t promise that every headline will improve tomorrow. It tells us where to look while we wait.

We can remain informed without becoming consumed. We can grieve without abandoning hope. We can become angry at what’s wrong without learning to despise the people involved. We can take responsible action without believing the future rests entirely upon us.

The news tells us what happened today.

It doesn’t tell us who holds tomorrow.

When the headlines leave us discouraged, we can pray, act where we’re able, and then deliberately return our attention to the Lord.

He hears us. He remains faithful. And the world is still in His hands.