Steady, Secure Hearts

"For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid..."

(Psalm 112:6-8a)

One of the assurances in life is that bad news is bound to come. It happens all...the...time! It's part of being human. Whether it's something that happens to us, our family, our friends... or just to the environment around us, we all face bad news! The biggest question, however, is how do we deal with it?

Psalm 112 addresses this reality. It refers to "evil tidings" (aka bad news). Surprisingly, it doesn't proper to say that the faithful will avoid evil tidings. Not at all. It says the faithful aren't afraid of evil tidings - their "hearts are firm and steady, secure in the LORD." Wow! This is so true! People of faith have a way of weathering the storms of life (storms everyone has!). It stars with faith in a God who saves (even in the midst of tragedy), and continues in a community of faith (aka church) that helps see us through those storms.

We've had a couple of people close to us deal with a child facing very serious cancer. These are painful, trying, and difficult situations. But both families are grounded in Christ, and rooted in a church community. Evil tidings weren't asked for (or even welcomed!), but steady hearts and a secure faith in God provided a much-needed foundation on which to stand.

So may it be with you, too.