April 16, 2020

Jesus: The Good News Our Hearts Need

Written by
  • print

I recently googled “coronavirus,” and guess how many links showed up? Almost eleven billion! I’d guess that at least ten billion of those links contain bits of news and stories from around the globe that would provoke anxiety in my heart, so I chose not to take the click bait. I resisted!

In these days of 24/7 media coverage featuring all things COVID-19, where are you looking for comforting news? Many of us move unconsciously from one news source to another with an information lust that just won’t be satisfied! Sensational headlines, riveting pictures, and stories of the latest numbers lure us in. We mistakenly think that just a little more information will make us feel better. Wrong!

It seems certain that Spring 2020 will go down in history as world-changing. Our desire for good news and some shred of hope that the pandemic’s curve will be flattened is understandable.

We Need Real Good News

But what we need is more than rapidly changing headlines. We need Jesus, the one who doesn’t merely post or announce good news. He is the good news! When Jesus began his public ministry, he said,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then [Jesus] closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
(Luke 4:18–20, NKJV)

Did you catch what happened in this scene?! With the eyes of all the men and women in the synagogue fastened upon the Redeemer, who had just read the description of the promised Messiah, the audience hears this humble man say, in so many words, “I’m here! I’m the Messiah!”

Brothers and sisters, in every age, and absolutely now in the midst of this deadly virus, Jesus is the author, bearer, and fulfillment of the good news of the gospel. Consider what it meant for him to proclaim that these ancient words of prophecy had been fulfilled for all time. Good news has been brought into our impoverished lives, and healing is available for our broken hearts. Our spiritual state as lost, alienated, hopeless captives has been transformed through the liberty that Christ brings. Our spiritual blindness has been changed into true sight so that we can see Christ for who he is—only in part now, but one day fully. The burdens we carry and the oppression of this scary, broken world don’t have to crush us even as they crash over us. Our Redeemer has come to rescue us and raise us up through resurrection. What fulfillment!

Where Are Your Eyes Fastened Today?

Your financial portfolio? Online sexual experiences? A person with whom you’ve engaged against your conscience? When our desires fixate upon finding an immediate comfort or an easy escape from real life, we are effectively saying, You be my good news; you be my savior; you rescue me from this scary world.

Friends, Jesus is your Redeemer. He truly is the good news you need not only in our COVID-19 surround-sound drama, but also what your heart was created to desire. He was anointed and sent to proclaim the news we all need to hear, and also to accomplish God’s mission to rescue needy sufferers and sinners like you and me. Gently and faithfully, he can shift the gaze of your heart from scary circumstances and the fear of an unknown future to himself and his steadfastness. Will you let your eyes be fixed on him?

More resources you might like:

Ellen Mary Dykas

Director of Equipping for Ministry to Women

Ellen joined Harvest USA in 2007 as our first full-time women’s ministry staff. Ellen received her MA from Covenant Theological Seminary and a graduate certificate in biblical counseling from Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).

More from Ellen Mary Dykas