A frightening encounter with Christ
October 1, 2013
According to your faith so let it be done to you
October 21, 2013

They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD (Psalm 112:6).

You don’t want to look or listen to the news, but you’re drawn like a tractor beam whenever you happen to catch it. Or, perhaps you’re a news junkie, and you have Drudge bookmarked on the computer, AM radio programmed on your car, and network news in the background 24/7.

People often ask, “Why is all the news so bad?” Christians wonder, “Why didn’t that miraculous healing get reported?” or “Why don’t we hear of all the good that the church is doing in the community?” The answer is clear. The devil is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), and very much in influence of what comes across the airwaves. Jesus referred to Satan as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11). Commentators and pundits have long bemoaned media bias, without realizing the full scope of why the “media elites” think and act the way they do. Their “boss” is Satan himself!

Recently, the Lord convicted me of a very bad practice. I was praying and interceding on behalf of the nation on specific points, then looking at various news outlets to see if my prayers had been answered. I didn’t realize how absurd this was until I heard someone say, “Why would we pray to God, then look to the world for the answers?”

As Christians we don’t look to the news to find out what’s happening in our world. Christians are to shape the news and world around us with prayer and fasting and praise. I once heard Joe McIntyre say that he visited a convent in Ireland and the nuns, totally cut off from the world of radio, television, internet, and newspapers, were “praying the world’s headlines.” The Holy Spirit was leading them in exactly how to pray for the nations, and these sisters with their focused prayer were impacting societies from which they were physically estranged.

Most of us can quote by heart the verse “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), but do we live it? Is it our modus operandi, our way of life? If we as Christians live by faith and not by sight, then what is there in the world to make us fear?

Certainly I am not saying there isn’t a place for outrage and even agony over the world around us – “a time to weep” as we groan in our prayer closets for the outpouring of the Spirit, as we mourn and plead for the lives in despair, destruction, and deception all around us. Certainly I believe we identify with Christ when we bear the burdens of His own tender heart in ours.

But to go to the news outlets as a means of understanding what is happening in the world around us is actually to get a distorted, one-dimensional view. And even if it’s a news outlet that favors our own worldviews, or has a reputation for higher integrity, that is not necessarily a guarantor that God wants us to tune in on a regular basis.

A practical example of this is something I’ve been praying over for a couple of years. That is, if God told me to pray that a certain piece of disastrous legislation be shut down – if He told me to proclaim it dead, to recognize it in the spirit as already dead, then that is what I do. I don’t worry if the rest of the nation is reacting to it, if those who endorsed it are smugly smiling over it, if the news networks are all discussing its impact on businesses, young people, and the economy. It’s dead!

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Please agree with me in spirit and in prayer that the Kingdom of God advances unswervingly. We will not be deterred nor intimidated by what we see being broadcast by the prince of the power of the air. Nor do we throw up our hands and say “it’s all over” because of what we hear reported.

“Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’ Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD” (Psalm 4:6).

Emily Tomko
Emily Tomko
Emily writes with fierce compassion and a deep desire to see people freed from the miry clay of this world and walking in the truth. Emily is available to minister at women’s retreats and youth functions, college fellowships, and business women meetings.

8 Comments

  1. Kathy says:

    I am receiving this profound message loud and (clearly).
    During the 70’s, I remember feeling guilty if I was not aware of current events (the news)…so yes, I have become addicted to the media and yes….seldom is it uplifting and/or positive. Thank you Emily, for setting me free! I shall begin tuning out negative energy as I begin to acquire control over an addiction that I was not aware of (having a hold on me). The media addiction has simply become a bad habit, leaving me to reflect on subjects that I actually would prefer not to. My time will be better spent in just reading the gospel.

    • Emily Tomko says:

      Kathy, I’m beyond blessed that this spoke to you. It’s been a long time He’s been working on me to release this. I know exactly what you mean about feeling like I “had” to know the news. I’ve been noticing that God lets me know exactly what I need to know, and at the right time.

  2. […] headlines at the gym offered nothing but fear and frustration – overwhelmingly bad news. But for the first time in six years, reading the closed captioning as I ran on the treadmill, I […]

  3. […] some tough opposition coming against the church. While we are to discern the times, I want us to get our eyes off the darkness and onto Him, and what He has said about Himself, and about what is available to us through Him. It is wondrous, […]

  4. Ingrid says:

    Emily,
    loved this article and all of your posts. I love how God is addressing the issue of news addiction that seems to be taking so many into its grip mostly unawares. The end times has become such a hot topic of doom and gloom Its almost as if it is the only news one needs to believe and follow and care about. Thank God for your obedience to His voice in alerting the viewers.
    I agree with you dear Emily, in spirit and in prayer that the Kingdom of our God will advance and we will not be deterred by what we see or hear in the news – because it shall not come nigh us! and because we are to take charge spiritually over darkness whenever we see it in operation. We are those that stretch forth our hands towards our TV sets and subdue darkness and command the agents of the prince of the air to stop all their operations. and yes we will travail in prayer and see change happening, bringing everything in alignment with the Word of God that we believe.
    thank you for such inspiring posts. I love all of your writings. Well done!

    • Emily Tomko says:

      Amen, Ingrid! Thank you for your own inspiring and life-giving words . . . it is tough to tear away from it, as the world seems to be crumbling before our eyes, but I agree that it is part of the shaking, and the center of His will is the only safe place to be. Blessings, and thanks for your kind remarks, too.

  5. […] my heart’s desire is to see a mainstream media outlet rise up and testify of heavenly truths that are happening in the world at large. This news […]

  6. […] compulsion to turn on the news is almost irresistible in the face of a war being waged on western civilization. Where will terror […]

Join the Discussion