Bad news travels fast. It’s what fills our feeds, our group chats, and our conversations about how everything’s falling apart. But beneath the noise, there’s another story unfolding—one of small, steady progress. Across the globe, changes are happening every day as people come together to solve crises and inspire hope. The world is still hard, but it’s certainly not hopeless.
Here are five good things happening right now that prove redemption is still in motion:
1. Bible Sales Continue to Climb
According to Circana BookScan, Bible sales rose 11% between January and September 2025, extending a two-year streak of steady growth. It follows a 22% jump the previous year and marks one of the most consistent upticks in decades. HarperCollins Christian Publishing reports that much of the new demand is coming from 18- to 34-year-olds, a demographic many assumed had drifted from organized religion. Digital engagement is climbing, too. YouVersion’s daily reading activity and verse-sharing both increased this year. Analysts say the pattern echoes what’s happened historically: in seasons of uncertainty, people seek stability in faith. And right now, the Bible is finding its way back into millions of hands.
2. Literacy Is Reaching Record Highs
Education remains one of humanity’s most consistent engines of change — and it’s working. According to UNESCO, 93% of young people worldwide can now read and write, the highest rate ever recorded. Adult literacy is improving too, rising five percentage points in Central and Southern Asia and four points in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. Every uptick represents millions of new readers — people newly empowered to learn, advocate, lead and make a difference in their communities.
3. Young People’s Mental Health Is Showing Signs of Recovery
After years of grim statistics, researchers are finally seeing glimmers of progress. A 2025 analysis from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center highlights “underreported bright spots” in youth mental health, including higher rates of help-seeking, peer support and emotional literacy. Gen Z isn’t ignoring the problem; they’re confronting it head-on, turning awareness into action. While the crisis isn’t over, mental health advocates are saying this cultural shift toward openness and empathy is one of the most encouraging trends of the decade.
4. Global Hunger Is Finally Going Down
For the first time in years, hunger rates are declining. The U.N.’s 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report found that 8.2% of people, about 673 million, experienced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022. That may sound small, but it means tens of millions of people now have access to reliable food. Even better, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet has dropped from 2.76 billion in 2019 to 2.6 billion last year. The progress isn’t uniform — regions in Africa still face deep food insecurity — but globally, the curve is bending toward hope.
3. Solar Power Is Set to Become the World’s Leading Energy Source
The clean-energy revolution is no longer just a pipe dream. A new analysis from the International Energy Agency projects that solar power will become the world’s largest source of electricity by 2033, outpacing coal for the first time. Solar power generation is expected to quadruple by the end of the decade, making renewable energy the new global default. The shift means not only fewer carbon emissions, but also greater energy independence for developing nations and cheaper electricity for millions.
Bad news is easy to find, but hope isn’t extinct. Progress often happens in the background, one percentage point or one community at a time. The world’s still messy, but it’s moving. And maybe that’s the best news of all.