Friday, December 19, 2008

Psalm 112:7

Psalm 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. (KJV)
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. (NIV)

Have you received bad news lately? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had. It seems that often around the holidays, some tragedy, illness, or other bad things seem to show up. For the believer bad news may still be bad, but there is a source of comfort in our Heavenly Father.

Just this past week, I went to the funeral home for a friend who just lost a year-long battle with cancer. I found out just a few hours ago, that another friend was losing her aunt, her oldest son was found to be a diabetic and her youngest son’s fiancĂ© needed to be operated on for a brain tumor. My daughter-in-law’s grandfather is dying and experiencing great suffering. Two good friends have multiple health problems and another began treatments for cancer this week. Yes, there is a lot of bad news around.

It seems Satan uses this time of year – the season we celebrate our Lord’s birth – to try to get us to lose our faith and trust in God. And, sadly, many times, it works! Our verse for this week, however, tells us that “He (the one who fears the Lord and delights in his commandments) will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” The Christian remains faithful and confidant in the Almighty God. He remembers that God knows what is best for each of us, even if we can’t understand what that is. Just today I read a story of a child that had died. Of course his mother was devastated. The story says the child wrote his mother a letter from Heaven and explained how wonderful it was there and how God couldn’t let him go on in the pain he’d been experiencing.

It’s true – bad news is never easy to hear. But we must remember, God is in control and He can be trusted. We can rely on Him for comfort and assurance that He has our best interests at heart. As Christians, we must remain faithful, even in the hard times. Is your heart steadfast? Is it fixed, trusting in the Lord? If so, you will experience God’s help even when you experience bad news.

Have a blessed Christmas, serving our Saviour!
Rhonda