About the Tough Times

by Hal Brady
 
A young preacher had given a practice sermon in a seminary class. His preaching professor was giving him a hard time. Finally, the young preacher said, “I thought it was a pretty good sermon.” The professor asked, “Why do you think so?” The student resounded, “I preached it last Sunday in my church and three people cried.” The professor replied, “I almost cried myself.” Now, I’m sure that young preacher lost a little confidence. I know because I’ve been there myself.  
 
Today I want to focus on confidence. But as a theological professor put it, “Sometimes confidence is mistaken for arrogance.” Arrogance comes from confidence in yourself. Be sure: I’m not talking about that kind of confidence. You see, that kind of confidence will not make it through the tough times of life. 


First, there’s the problem of confidence! For sure, one of the main problems of confidence is that we carry it in a fragile human vessel, and it can be so easily shattered. Our relationships and our world always seem to be so tentative. They change so quickly and usually our confidence is not helped. Confidence is another one of those qualities that is always in danger of extinction. Bishop William Willimon, when he was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, was visiting with a college student. He said this college student was a member of one of the dormitory Bible study groups on campus. The young man was telling Willimon about the group and then said, “You know, I’ve never felt the need of it back in DesMoines.”  “Why here?” Willimon asked him. The student replied, “Dean, do you know how difficult it is to be a sophomore and a Christian at the same time?” That young man was struggling with his confidence - or lack of it.

Second, there’s the secret of confidence! The kind of confidence I’m talking about here is no “whistling in the dark” kind of confidence. The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 46 is not naive. He knows that there is nothing easy about life. He has every reason to be fearful and anxious. This psalmist in psalm 46 provides the absolute worse-case scenario. The “change” affecting the earth in verse two and three involves a direct hit tornado and earthquake that measures ten on the Richter Scale. Actually, the situation is even worse than that. In the ancient near Eastern understanding of the universe, the mountains were the foundation that anchored the dry land that held up the sky. The most terrible thing that could happen would be for the mountains to “shake” or “tremble.” In essence, verses two and three are the psalmist’s description of the world’s falling apart. But in the face of “this worst of all situations,” the psalmist affirms God as “refuge,” “strength,” and “help.”  When the very structure of this world cannot be depended upon, when our world is literally falling apart, God can still be depended upon. 
 
The little girl was right as she finished her prayer with these words, “And please, God, look after yourself because if anything happens to you, we are all sunk.” The late Father Theodore Hesburgh, longtime President of the University of Notre Dame, had a favorite line he liked to quote. He said, “The only thing we really know about tomorrow is that the providence of God will be up before dawn.” The psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God” (46:10). Be still! Stillness leads to perspective which leads to confidence – in God.
 
Dr. Hal Brady is a retired pastor who continues to present the Good News of Jesus Christ and offer encouragement in a fresh and vital way though Hal Brady Ministries (halbradyministries.com).