INNAPPROPRIATE EXPECTATION

Several evenings ago Carol and I were visiting friends. I glanced at the television which was tuned to a 24-hour news station and saw what appeared to be the scene of an explosion in New York City. Crawling across the bottom of the screen were words that alluded to “explosion, injuries, death, possible terrorism.” The anxiety level of America and possibly the western world skyrocketed for a few minutes. Eventually it was discovered that a steam pipe, nearly one hundred years old and buried eight or ten feet underground, had ruptured with great force.

We live in a world that breeds fear and anxiety. No matter where you turn, it seems as though there is a catastrophe rising, or at least the newscasters say there is. The news media has such a negative outlook that virtually everything is viewed with the idea, “How can we sensationalize this?” Take the evening news for example; newspeople no longer report the news, they allege to report the news and the news they think is behind the news. It is done in such a way as to cast aspersions on whomever they can find. This kind of negative spin takes an accident and elevates it to a disaster; it takes a spring thunderstorm and elevates it to an impending life-threatening, killer storm; it takes an obscure report by an unknown group of “experts” and projects it as though it is certifiable truth.

The Bible has some interesting things to say about the times we live in. Luke 21:26: “Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.”

While the scriptures do say that there will be an increase of catastrophic events and life will become more and more difficult in the end times, this verse seems to say that men’s hearts will fail not because of the actual events but because of the “fear and the expectation” that a disaster of some kind may be coming their way. And if you watch the evening news and listen too much to talk radio, you may just feel like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket, and it is happening “right now.” If it’s not the conservatives whining about the cataclysmic disasters that the liberals are creating, then it’s the liberals whining about the catastrophic disaster the conservatives have created. Enough already! Both political parties are embarrassing, money-grubbing publicity mongers.

The word fear that is used in Luke 21:26 means to live in dread, to be terror-stricken. This kind of fear causes one to see unfounded evil coming at them from all directions. We get the English word phobia from the Greek word for fear and phobia means “an exaggerated and usually illogical fear of an event or item.”

So, what’s God’s message for us in a moment like this? Psalm 46 is about as comforting and straight to the point as any passage in the Bible. I will only give you the first three verses. You need to drink in the remainder on you own.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with its swelling” (NKJ).

Refuge

The Hebrew word here is sometimes translated to mean “fleeing to a shelter with the idea of tarrying there for protection” (see Psalm 57:1). The word is sometimes translated “trusting” (see Psalm 37:40). The primary idea is that a place is not a refuge unless you can trust it. The word is also sometimes translated “hope.” This would tell us that the word refuge embraces the idea that it is a place we can flee to, knowing that we can trust.

Strength

The word strength that is used here has powerful meanings. Among several, it means to be vehement as a wind, like the wind that divided the waters of the Red Sea. It also means “to provide defense and refuge.” When we are weak, He is strong! God is not just a hiding place for us in times of stress; He is a calming strength for us to draw on.

Very present help

Not just somewhere in our neighborhood, He is right there with us at all times.

I am a father of two children. My daughters know that I am available to help them whenever they need it; all they have to do is call. Several times during the last 20 years Carol and I have lived 1200 to 1500 miles away from our children. We could give advice on the phone and, if need be, get on a plane and be with our children within 6 to 10 hours. Now that we live close, it would still be 15 or 20 minutes before we could get to their house in a time of urgent need. Too often we relegate our understanding of God and how He works to what we understand in the natural, and that is a mistake on our part. You need to embrace the fact that God is there with you all the time. You respond to that, saying, “I don’t understand how that can be”…but you don’t need to understand! God is God and you are not. There are lots of things about God and His ways that we, in our natural minds, are incapable of totally thinking through and grasping. God said, “I will be a very present help in trouble.” Therefore, He is.

God’s promise to His people is that He will be a trustworthy place of safety, a mighty strength for us to draw on, and that He will be a very (meaning abundant) real presence in times of stress and trouble.

“God is….therefore we will not fear!” Have a great week!