The longer Margie and I live, the more we are drawn to the Old Testament prophets and poets. In the tradition we were raised, such passages tended to be used as moral lessons (dare to be a Daniel), or to sift for hints of the end of the world. We left such dispensationalism behind when introduced to a robust Reformed understanding of Scriptures by Francis and Edith Schaeffer. Now all of Holy Writ could be seen as unfolding the Gospel under Christ’s Lordship, Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation. All spoke to us as God’s people and could be allowed to shed light of daily life and reality in a broken, waiting world.
Last Sunday the lectionary reading from the psalms was Psalm 112. It is an examination of the righteous person, a reason to give thanks to God. “Praise the Lord! / Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, / who greatly delights in his commandments.” (v. 1) What it says about such a person is as applicable today in our world of advanced modernity as it was centuries ago when it was composed. Such a person is “gracious, merciful,” and known for justice (v. 3-5), generous (v. 5, 9), steady and unmoved from the good (v. 2-3, 9). Sort of what you would expect. More of us need to lean strongly into such righteousness.
And then the words of this ancient poem (in verses 7-8) seemed to speak with surprising authority and specificity to me, to today, to my world.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid...
As the Reader spoke these words from the lectern, I thought how the only difference between then and now is that we get access to far more news far more quickly in far greater detail, and in ways that are far better at exciting fear. But the poet makes clear why the righteous person is not afraid. It has nothing to do with the amount of bad news or the way it’s delivered. If it did, we would have no way to be unafraid, because we cannot control the deluge of news afflicting us.
A steady, firm heart, the Hebrew poet says, is unafraid of bad news because the righteous person trusts the Lord.
News, especially bad news, especially personal bad news, tends to take center focus in our minds and souls. Mass shootings leaving children dead, wounded, and traumatized. Wars expanding in places we have never visited but that are populated by persons just like us. A brother-in-law falling off a ladder as he did needed repairs, ending up in surgery with a broken femur. An unexpected bill that demolishes our budget and requires thinking about the last thing we wanted, applying for a loan. And each one can trigger its own tremor of fear.
We must trust the Lord because we never know exactly what God is planning. Maybe he will somehow turn the bad into good; or will use the good to become a test of faith or the first step in someone’s downfall.
We often say God answered our prayer when what we requested has come about. But what about all the times we do not receive what we requested? Even when we receive what we asked for we have no idea how God will use it. His ways are not ours, as we are fond of saying, unless we get what we asked for and so assume He wants precisely what we do.
What is needed is not a mentality that tries to make sense of the bad news, but a heart firmly convinced that God is good, bringing all things to their appointed end in Christ. Whether we can see it or not. Not being is usually the case. After all, if I could figure out what God is doing, I would be worshipping a very puny god.
So, we place our trust in the goodness of God. When I visited Accra, Ghana a few years ago to speak at a conference there, speakers would occasionally pause and say, “God is good!” And the entire audience would reply, “All the time.”
And so, He is. Whether we can see it or not. Whether we know what He’s doing or not. Whether the news is good, or more likely in a fallen world, bad. May our hearts be firm and steady, trusting the Lord. This is not a cliché or some pietistic legalism. It can be the reality of being a follower of Christ.
Is it mine? The test is simple: Am I fearful at all the bad news? Are you?
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