In a men’s Bible study we are working our way through Eugene Peterson’s book, Reversed Thunder, which is about the Book of Revelation. Peterson notes that John has a pressing question in front of him: “If the Kingdom of God is so real and so powerful, why are we still dealing with the evil of the Roman Empire?”

Peterson then notes that John kind of takes his sweet time getting to the “answer.” He spends a good deal of the letter in the beginning setting up the greatness of Jesus. There is the triumphant Christ, the Christ who is worshiped, and the Christ embedded in the everyday struggles of the Church.

Twenty percent of the Revelation is written before he turns to the question of evil in history — the pain and wickedness that are everywhere and so distressingly evident politically, socially, and personally. (p. 73)

What a beautiful reminder. Everything around us wants us to be distracted. Social media is constantly shouting at us about what we should really be mad about. The media itself (and, PUH-LEEZE!!! Fox News is also main stream media! Have you been realistic about their ratings? Be honest and just admit it) is fueled by anger and division. The truth of the matter is that every politician and every news outlet would stop if we quit wanting it. But we think, “Well, if I quit, the other guy should quit, too. He doesn’t quit, so I won’t quit.” And on the cycle goes!

John doesn’t dive right into the problem of evil. He wants his readers to understand the magnificence of Christ and keep it centered. We need the same discipline in our own lives today. We need high doses of the reminders in our lives. We need our vision clear by refusing to be constantly fed with the bad news.

A habit I started: the first fifteen minutes of my day (I have to start small) are in silence. I am not looking at a screen. I am not scrolling through my email. I am not checking news or even sports scores. As much as possible, I give myself to the discipline of nothing. Maybe I walk through Psalm 23 or the Lord’s Prayer. But I may take up physical repetition through stretching or getting coffee set, but my mind is given to… nothing.

I want to be open to what the Spirit may say. I want to welcome in his joy. That will not happen by opening my laptop and looking at news or sports or social media.

Over time I am hoping to find the joy of … nothing… to be anchor setting in my life.