“Don't Be Afraid of Bad News”

Monday, December 14, 2020

BIBLE READING: Psalm 112

“He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.” (Psalm 112.7)

I was at my aunt’s funeral when I got news of another friend’s death. We had talked recently about college and his future plans. The future was bright and promising for this young man. But he would not experience any of it. The news of his death was shocking and very close to home.

It seems like that’s been happening a lot this year, at least more noticeably. Freak accidents, pandemic related health issues, unexpected deaths. Things that feel so far removed from us are happening to the people that we know and love. Maybe this is something we all experience and it’s just a time of life that I’m in where I’m realizing it... but the reality is we just don’t know what the future will hold. Time and chance happen to us all (Ecclesiastes 9.11).

There’s no doubt that 2020 will go down as the year of bad news. However, as I read this verse, it teaches me that a righteous person does not need to be afraid to hear bad news. This is not because bad news never comes to believers. On the contrary, Job heard the news that his children had perished (Job 1.13-19), John the Baptist heard the news that he would lose his life (Matthew 14.1-12), and Paul heard the news that he would be sent to jail (Acts 16.19-24). The point of this verse is not that Christians are somehow immune from receiving bad news. The point is that they do not need to fear it when it comes!

There is a randomness we perceive in the events of life, but nothing is random to God. Everything happens on his timeline and under his watch. He knows when the beginning and end of a thing will be (Isaiah 46.10). He knows and sets the limits of suffering and prosperity.

Maybe 2020 has been God’s gracious way of letting us see we don’t have control of the future. Hopefully we’re growing in this understanding by experiencing the brevity of life and the need for hope in something better. It may not feel like it, but it is by God’s grace that we’re allowed moments where we see how little we actually trust him at times.

And so, instead of fearing the unknown, let’s take comfort in who God is every day. God is unmoved and unchanged by circumstances (Malachi 3.6). He is always working according to a timeline where all things will work together for good (Romans 8.28). God is always on time, intentional, and deliberate to give us confidence and hope. So, do not fear the bad news tomorrow might bring. Instead overcome fear by standing on what is true and not simply on what you can see and feel.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23.4)

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