Show Notes
When the world feels overwhelming and injustice seems to win, God calls us to respond differently. Psalm 37, Lamentations 3, and Habakkuk remind us to pause, trust, and wait on the Lord instead of reacting in fear or anger. In this message, you’ll explore how to find peace in uncertainty, hope in hard times, and strength through faith in God.
Discover how the Bible teaches us to respond to bad news with stillness, prayer, and surrender. Learn the power of trusting God’s timing, practicing faith over fear, and finding rest in His promises when life feels out of control.
Nuance’s Formed for Faithfulness is a weekly liturgy to encourage all of us to be faithful to Christ in the public square. Join Case Thorp as he follows the Church calendar through the reading of Scripture, prayer, and short reflections on faith in all facets of public life.
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Episode Transcript
We are in the 17th week of normal time; as we could take a few moments to consider how God would have us live and love in our daily lives in the light of his salvation and renewal. Welcome to Formed for Faithfulness.
Psalm chapter 37, a Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
There’s a lot wrong in this world, and God calls his people to be a part of the answer. Social justice is a biblical concept that long precedes its recent widespread adoption as a call to action. So, I firmly believe that we are called to be advocates and activists for good, but not all the time. All the bad news we are fed every day encourages a reaction of some kind. The message is, don’t just sit there, do something. But scripture actually suggests another response. Yes, there are occasions and situations when we are called to swift action, but there are also those times when the best thing is don’t just do something, sit there. That’s the title of a popular mindfulness book by Sylvia Boorstein, but again, it’s predated by God’s word. Psalm 37 cautions us against getting worked up when wicked people seem to be getting away with wrongdoing. Rather than rush out to make things right, we’re cautioned to sit back and trust God. Now this isn’t disinterest. It’s what author John Eldredge calls the practice of benevolent detachment, the acknowledgement that we are not God. We do not have the capacity to carry out all the woes of this world on our shoulders, which the media feed us with constantly, nor the ability to make them right. It doesn’t mean we never do anything, but we don’t let what’s wrong dominate and dictate our feelings, our thinking or our actions. We recognize that sometimes we can do most by doing nothing, surrendering all to God and trusting Him to show us in due time if and how we should respond. During His ministry years, Jesus didn’t meet every need. In John 5:19, he says of himself that “the Son of Man does only what He sees the Father doing.” Maybe the next time you’re disturbed or angered by something you read or see, the best response may not be to post a comment or sign a petition, at least at first. Instead, be still before God as a silent statement that He is still in control and to best hear from Him what He might want you to do. Passive resistance can be powerful.
God’s Word in the Book of Lamentations, Chapter 3, Verses 19 to 26.
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
I want to share a prayer with you from my friend and a mentor, Pastor Scotty Smith.
Psalm 112 says, 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. Their hearts are secure, they have no fear.
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m so drawn to the heart reflected in this scripture. A steadfast heart beating in a circumstance tested body. A fearless calm when surrounded by difficult people and threatening events. A good news heart in a bad news world. By the truth and power of the gospel, make that my heart, Father.
Free me to trust more and fret less. You’ve made me righteous in Christ. Now make me less shakeable when shaky things are going on. I am not wanting to become more oblivious or impervious, but less knee-jerk reactionary and more accepting that you’ve got this one and all things well in hand. Help me to accept bad news or shocking or disappointing news, or anger-fueling or joy-depleting news not with a shrug of my shoulders, but with a bend in my knees, not with passive resignation, but with active surrender to the God who does all things well. So very Amen, I pray in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful name.
Two readings from the book of Habakkuk, chapter one, one through four, and chapter two, verses one through four.
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
1 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness
