He Shall Not Be Afraid of Evil Tidings – Sunday, February 07, 1943
There is a phrase in one of the Psalms that describes a man who might well be the envy of all the world—a man of whom it could be said: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings.” (Psalm 112:7) It is highly improbable that one so richly blessed could be willingly induced to trade places with any other—“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings.” If we could somehow find ourselves in a world—or make a world —where this could be true—-we would no doubt know the joy of heaven on earth.
Much that we read, much that we hear, comes under the classification of “evil tidings” — the misfortunes of people everywhere. The man who has done something he knows he shouldn’t have done, and who unavoidably therefore carries with him a sense of guilt, lives in fear of evil tidings, fear of the fateful knock at the door, of the pointing of an accusing finger, fear of a hand placed on a shoulder. Fear of evil tidings. The man with a past-due obligation lives in fear of evil tidings, fear of every letter he opens, fear of every call and caller, fear of every due-date and demand. We fear tidings of the departure of those we love. Millions of mothers and wives and children the world over live in fear of tidings they hope will never come.
There are those in the world who fear evil tidings of the fortunes of war, tidings of restriction, regulation, regimentation, of slavery and oppression. There are those whose sleep is made restless by fear, whose dreams are colored and fashioned by fear of evil tidings. And then occasionally one has the refreshing experience of finding someone whose faith is stronger than evil tidings—whose faith is sufficient to surmount all of the tragedies, all of the bad news, all of the screaming of the headlines, all of the blaring of raucous voices, all of the injustice and misery that has or could be devised by men. And to meet one so blessed is to become suddenly aware of the real meaning of peace and serenity—the peace and serenity that come with an assurance of the essential goodness of life, with an assurance of the personal reality of a living God who has declared purposes which will be accomplished for His children—the peace and serenity that come with the assurance that somehow, by forces of which we know so little, the pattern will take shape, the pieces will move into place, and understanding will follow confusion.
Of such was the faith of him of whom the Psalmist said: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings.” It could be said of all men on the same terms and conditions on which, it was said of one. There is such a world to be had — a world free from fear of evil tidings.
By Richard L. Evans, spoken from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Sunday, Feb. 7, 1943, over Radio Station KSL and the nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System. Copyright – 1943.
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February 07, 1943
Broadcast Number 0,703