For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
Psalm 112:6-7 (ESV)
One of the worst feelings is dreading bad news. We dread seeing the grade we received on a final exam.
We get anxious when we hear our boss wants to speak with us. We assume the worst.
We fear the results of a biopsy when there is suspected cancer. The list of bad news we fear is endless.
Because it such a common human experience to fear bad news the verses in Psalm 112 get my attention:
God’s promise is that the righteous are not afraid of bad news. We are the righteous. That is the gift God gives us in our baptisms.
A friend pointed me to Christian authors with profound words about fear:
“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man’s terror scares you, turn your thoughts to the wrath of God.” G.K. Chesterton
“The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.” Oswald Chambers
Chesterton and Chambers are right on target. They essentially paraphrased our Lord’s words in Luke 12:4-7.
Oh, Holy Spirit, create in us new, clean and righteous hearts. Amen.