By Kelly Carr

•  When I talk to my Venezuelan friends who describe the atmosphere of violence and government oppression they face . . .

•  When I read updates from missionaries in South Sudan as they describe heavy shelling, crossfire, people running for cover . . .

•  When I see the hashtags #blacklivesmatter and #bluelivesmatter that are borne from devastating circumstances here in the U.S. . . .

My heart is torn apart. I wonder, is there goodness left in this world?

But in those same circumstances, I see my friends returning to Venezuela because their country needs the love of God now more than ever. I read about the South Sudan mission housing 3,000 displaced people. I watch churches speaking up and demonstrating respect for law enforcement and honor for people of all skin tones. I see that goodness still exists.

There will always be “wars and rumors of wars” (Mark 13:7). We will continue to see people betray and crush down others on the path to power. We will be shocked when we ourselves succumb to self-indulgence at the expense of others—words coming from our mouths and actions from our hands that hurt rather than heal. How could we be brought so low by sin? We are far from good.

True—each of us strays from goodness. Yet let’s remember why these fruits of the Spirit are identified as such—from God’s own Spirit. It’s because we can only manufacture a fraction of these nine attributes on our own, for a limited time. We must allow God to dwell within us, to guide our thoughts and moves in order to produce lasting goodness. It is possible. We can combat evil and the sin in this world when we are led by the Lord. Rather than allowing the negative news to lull us into inaction, we must heed the Spirit; we must make a difference; we must reach out—for good.