If our hearts melt at bad news, whether actual or sensationalized, we should spend more time seeking the Lord than with the daily news cycle. Trusting in the Lord is the only thing that can make us firm and steadfast. If we are in Christ Jesus, our salvation is as sure and unshakeable as our Savior.

“He is not afraid of bad news.” This statement should not only apply to some Christians some of the time but to all Christians all of the time, for the first six words of this paragraph came directly from scripture. A lack of fear is possible because the Christian’s heart is firm, trusting in the Lord (Psalm 112:7).

The use of the word “news” in this sentence includes all sources of information. It could be a doctor who tells us of a cancer diagnosis, a spouse who says they are leaving, a supervisor who notifies us of the layoff, or a news outlet warning of war. In all these instances, the believer who trusts in the Lord does not need to fear.

Though the author of these words did not have our modern news outlets in mind, they are not excluded because the news source is irrelevant to the Christian’s response. As we consider this verse, we should reflect on our relationship with today’s outlets and channels, such as CNN, Fox, and social media. In doing so, there are several things we could consider, but here are three primary applications.

1. “He is not afraid of bad news.” It assumes the news is part of our lives. It does not say the believer does not fear because he is ignorant or pays no attention to it. Knowledge of what is happening in this world is part of life, even the Christian life. We are not to be people who bury their heads in the sand. We should be well-informed. It would be irrelevant to say he is not afraid of bad news if he had no knowledge of it.

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