Fear No Bad News
Psalm 112:1,7 - “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, …He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
We have all heard a lot of bad news lately, a whole lot of bad news. I am referring to the global spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how within just the past week, it has officially been labeled a global pandemic by the WHO, virtually all schools have closed for at least a week and our President has issued a national state of emergency. We have seen stats and trends that give us real cause for concern. We have heard stories of people whose lives have been negatively impacted in every way from the radical inconvenience of quarantine to death. And we have felt the threat, with all of its societal and financial implications, move from the other side of the globe into our own backyard. And from what we’re told, it’s not getting better any time soon. When we dwell on these reports alone, we can be helplessly led into anxiety, fear and panic.
While there are certainly exceptions, most of us don’t regularly have to navigate the fear provoked by life-threatening trouble or crippling uncertainty. I’m actually grateful for this. We long for an eternal state of peace, marked by perfect safety and joy in God! The closer we can get to that in this life, while helping others do the same, the better. The downside is when danger and difficulty inevitably come, we are out of practice. Trusting God doesn’t come naturally and faith acts like a muscle – the more we use it, the stronger it gets. The opposite is also true. The more familiar we are with comfort or the more self-reliant we are, the more we will need to retrain ourselves to “strengthen our hearts and trust in the Lord” (Ps.112:7).
Psalm 112 is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the next letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and it describes a certain kind of person – someone who fears the Lord. In verse seven, we discover that this person fears receiving no bad (scary, troubling) news; we discover that the cure for fear is fear… of God. But this is not a flat, two-dimensional fear that means you’re scared of Him as a moral judge. That might be where it begins. But for the Christian, the one who knows God’s character, its far more than that. For us who know Him, fear is defined by a holy reverence of Him, a deep love for Him and a firm trust in Him. It is this understanding of the fear of God that is the key to trusting God in the face of bad news.
We have a holy reverence of God, in part, because of His sovereignty. He’s the all-powerful, pre-existent One who alone deserves praise. He wisely ordains and providentially controls all things for His glory and the ultimate good of all who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). So, the fear of bad news is trumped by my confidence in His perfect wisdom and ability to preserve my life.
We have a deep love for God, because of His loving kindness toward us in Christ. He is innately and perfectly good. Paul reasons with us that God, who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will also graciously give us all good things (Romans 8:32). So, the fear of bad news is trumped by my confidence in His loving care for me. And something very important happens when I know God has my best interest in mind; I’m free from worry and self-preservation and can turn my attention and concern to others.
We have a firm trust in God, because of His consistent, unchanging character. His perfect goodness is so good, because He is perfectly dependable. He is the Faithful One. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) and every good gift comes from Him, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17). So, the fear of bad news is trumped by my confidence that He always remains willing and able to take care of me.
This fear of God becomes intensely practical, when we have reason to believe that our livelihood or our life is being threatened. We often forget that God has numbered our days (Ps. 139:16, Job 14:5) and none of us is promised tomorrow. But in these precious verses, we are promised that until our days are through and we are taken to our eternal home, God will provide for our earthly needs. Consider Jesus’ words below and how a right view of God and his promise to care for us should rid our hearts and minds of all anxiety, fear and panic…
Matthew 6:25-34 - “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 10:26-31 - “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
These words from our Lord depict a profoundly simple child-like faith in our Heavenly Father. It seems so obvious upon hearing these words that we would trust Him completely with every aspect of our life - food and shelter, life and livelihood, everything. And notice in Matthew 10:28 that our faith is once again placed in the God that is deserving of holy reverence and fear. So, no matter how bad the news might get, He remains our sovereign, righteous, loving, trustworthy Heavenly Father.
And as the Psalmist says…
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom (or what) shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom (or of what) shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)