Psalm 112 - The Fear of Bad News

Concerning the righteous, the psalmist writes:

"Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD." (Psalms 112:6–7 NIV)

Google defines ANXIETY as "a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome."

Dictionary.com defines ANXIETY as "distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune"

Here, the psalmist describes it as "the fear of bad news"

It is the fear that something bad is going to happen, a constant worrying about what might go wrong.  I used to be quite good at managing bad news. As an infantry officer, my job was to anticipate problems, actively contemplate on what might go wrong and then come up with a plan B and C and D, in case plan A failed. I brought this skill with me into pastoral ministry. But this constant focus on what might go wrong can wear you down over time. It used to be fun (like solving puzzles). But overtime this constant worrying became stressful. I began to fear "bad news": fear disappointing God and others, fear not meeting our church financial budget, fear of saying the wrong thing from the pulpit or during a funeral, fear failing my family, my church, my God.  For me, ANXIETY had become "the fear of bad news", the fear that the problems I'd anticipated might actually occur and I would be ill equipped to address them. 

The problem is, as the psalmist so rightly highlights is that at the root of such ANXIETY is a lack of trust and reverence (fear) for God.  If we do not revere God enough to know he is in control, then we are left feeling unstable, uprooted and anxious in the face of bad news.

Yet the psalmist reminds us that if we are indeed counted among the blessed "who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands" (Ps 112:1) then so also shall we be counted among the righteous who "will never be shaken" and "have no fear of bad news", whose "hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD." (Ps 112:6-7)

Now, that's Good News!