How do you respond to bad news?
News that caused harm or is ugly, a calamity, dreadful and contemptible.
Do you instantly transform into Chicken Little and say the Sky is Falling?
When you get bad news are you able to maintain composure and start asking the Lord where are you in this? What do you want me to learn from this Lord?
This week was a hard week for our friends and students in Frisco ISD. For one group of school kids they were sent home and school was cancelled for two days. Another school had threats but deemed okay to return to school. Not to mention all the things kids are seeing regarding this situation on their devices through social media. It has been an hard emotional week.
It is heavy for the heart and soul to see kids having to deal with all this evil, along with parents, administrators, teachers and the police.
On the podcast today, we talk about Psalms 112:7. It says, “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
In this Psalms five blessings comes to one who fears God. One of the blessings is that will be firmly established in his faith, unshakable, with no fear of what man might do to him.
When we hear bad news what is our posture? The answer should be is a Godward stance of our heart is trust, not in a hoped-for turn of events but in the Lord. What is promised is not better news, but a steady heart. More exactly, it is a heart made firm.
I have a kid who used to be afraid of everything:
Lines on the sidewalk
Elevator doors
Escalator steps
Slides on the playground
Even dogs.
What did we do with his fear?
We helped him walk through each one but on some occasions we pushed him through it. We did not let him fall prey to his fears, we took him on the slide and pushed him off it.
He was deathly afraid of dogs. What did we do? We got a dog.
Yes, yes, yes, some fears are valid and healthy but some we need to remember to trust God better. See my kid had to trust his mom and dad that we would not put him in a harmful situation. He had to trust that we had good things in store for him and not things of danger. After we pushed him down the slide, he got to the bottom, realized it was not what he had made out in his head and said, “I want to do it again!”
Let’s think about the story of Jesus' birth. There is good news and there is bad news. First the shepherds get the announcement from the angels and they tell them we bring you good news of great joy. Jesus coming to earth is the ultimate Good News. He is the Gospel. He gives us hope, His presence on earth fulfilled the OT promises made by God. God kept His promise and guess what He will keep His other promise of returning back to take us home. Us being His Chosen, His saints, Royal Priesthood to live in a place that He has prepared for us (John 14:1-3).
Then the bad news came to Joseph, who received it after Jesus’s birth, that Herod was searching for the child to kill him. We don’t see in the story that Joseph started crying out or mumbling under his breath, “I really did not sign up for this crazy life.” We don’t see thoughts of anxiousness or feeling lost; his heart was firm and trusted the Lord. Firm meaning determined, be intent on and unshakable.
Again, how easy is your faith shaken in the world we live in?
At times we have to ask ourselves who do we trust? God or man? I told a friend yesterday that as I sent my kids to school today,I was reminded they are not mine. They are on loan. They belong to Him. As I was telling her this my eyes filled with tears. I needed to say it out loud and remind myself that my children are on borrowed time and if God calls them home sooner than I would like, I have to be okay with that. I can't let the bad news of this world cause me to doubt who God is. He tells us how we should live in this crazy world. In this world that at times we shake our heads at at or lose sleep over. We have to stay rooted in our Savior, in His Holy Spirit and in God's word. We cannot find our peace, or Shalom in things of this world.
As we wrap up the 2021 year on the podcast, today’s is an interesting one with lots of forks in the road but we hope as you listen you find hope and peace. We hope you are reminded of the Psalms 112 posture we need to have. We also hope you find joy knowing that prompted like we were to not be shaken. To stand firm in the Good News and Great Joy of Jesus Christ. Our peace is rooted knowing this God has something better for us.
Let’s celebrate His birth and the promise of His Second coming. Ladies He is coming back to take us home for eternity. This is not our home. Hallelujah!!
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and Safe New Year. We will meet back here in January.
Shalom!
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