In my opinion, one of the keys to being fearless in the advent of bad news is the degree of certainty you have in God’s “unfailing love,” as it is referred to in numerous places in the Bible.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
The first step in dealing with bad news is to have absolute confidence that God will be there with us through any and all trials—great is His faithfulness!
One of my favorite verses that puts this spiritual welfare vs physical welfare into perspective is Paul’s discourse in his second epistle to the Corinthians:
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Paul, in the 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 passage above uses language to contrast two truths about our physical and spiritual existence — “outwardly...inwardly,” “seen...unseen,” — but the message is clear: what we empirically experience cannot be denied as a form of “truth” and can be all consuming in causing physical, mental and emotional anguish when it occurs. But, unlike spiritually revealed truths, these empirical truths are temporary. They will not always be true,
God’s love, a perfect love, a steadfast eternal love, never fails and nothing nor no one can ever separate us from that unfailing love (Romans 8:38). Because He loves us that way we find verses like these that express the Bible writers’ reaction to God’s constant care and affection for His beloved children:
will not always be able to be seen, and will not be able to even be recalled (“The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” Isaiah 65: 17). Spiritual truths are true now and will be true throughout eternity. Read Psalm 91, understanding the promises are sometimes meant to refer to your physical safety, but always refer to God’s protections for your spiritual well-being. As the song says: “God Will Take Care of You.”
The bad news about the certainty that I will eventually succumb to Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is totally overwhelmed by an even greater certainty (complete certitude) that my “present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for [me] a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” No wonder I can “say with confidence,
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can [any earthly enemy like LMS] do to me?
You can say the same thing about your bad news with the same level of confidence and trust as the writer of this verse in Hebrews, and the anonymous author of Psalm 121 who describes what it means to receive personal help “both now and forevermore” from the Creator of heaven and earth:
1I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
