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By: Pastor Berg

I’m not usually an anxious person. So, I don’t know if it’s the constant stress of everything that’s come as a result of COVID or if it’s the upcoming election and all the vitriol being spewed from both sides or perhaps it’s everything all lumped together into one big pile of problems. Whatever the case, I was feeling anxious. So I pulled out my Bible and decided I’d read from the book of Psalms, the prayer book and hymnal of God’s people for a thousand years. I’ve read the first half of the book of Psalm more often than the second, so I thought I’d just start at Psalm 75, halfway through the book. The LORD couldn’t have led me to a better Psalm for what I was feeling. The editors to the EHV titled the Psalm, “The God of History.” It’s written by Asaph, one of the musical directors at the tabernacle. It’s a song meant to be sung to the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” 

Psalm 75 opens and closes with thanks and praise, as many Psalms do, as many of our own prayers do as well. It’s always good to remind ourselves to thank God for his blessings. “Your wonderful deeds reveal that your name is near,”  Asaph says in verse 2. What follows is what really grabbed my attention and brought me a sense of peace that had been missing. God is speaking and he says, “Yes, I choose the appointed time. I am the one who judges rightly. The earth and all its inhabitants are shaking. I am the one who holds its pillars firm” (verses 3-4). It almost feels like our society has been living under “the sky is falling,” mentality for the past 7 or 8 months. Day after day we are bombarded with doom and gloom predictions. Month after month we’ve been told how bad things are around us. Perhaps we wonder why God is letting all of this happen. In our efforts to try and process all of this, have we taken the time to look inwardly? Is my anxiety, is my uncomfortable feeling simply a result of everything that’s going on around me or is it perhaps because of what’s happening inside me. Is it sin lingering in my heart, sin that I’m unwilling to part with, sin that I need to confess? Maybe that’s not the case for you, but I think it was part of it for me. 

Our beloved synod recently lost one of its pastoral giants when God called Professor Daniel Deutschlander home. In a recent email shared with WELS President Schroeder, Professor Deutschlander wrote the following. 

“Something has been bothering me more and more as this health crisis grips the nation and therefore occupies an increasing amount of necessary attention from our pastors. I have noted in their messages that they are properly eager to strengthen and comfort our people with God’s powerful and beautiful gospel promises. But I notice that one thing seems to be constantly missing. In times of trouble in Israel, what was the first thing the prophets had to say to the people? Repent!”

I believe our society has been shaking out of fear of a virus. But shouldn’t we also be shaking at the one who “judges rightly?” The call to repentance has never been more needed or more necessary. I needed to hear it too. But, there’s not just fear that’s produced by the one who “judges rightly.” There’s also comfort. Comfort in the truth that God is the one who “holds its pillars firm.” This world is not going to end apart from God’s design. No virus, no election result is going to change that truth. 

And so we can say with the people of Israel who heard this truth from God. “Indeed, power to promote someone does not come from the east or from the west or from the wilderness. No, it is God who makes the decision. He brings down one. He raises up another” (verses 6-7). As much as I already knew this, I needed to hear it again. God is in control. God will work things out for the ultimate, eternal good of his people. Or as the psalmist puts it, “[God] will cut off the horns of the wicked. The horns of the righteous will be lifted up” (verse 10).

It’s been said that “confession is good for the soul.” I certainly have found that to be true in writing this. I pray that my struggles help you to realize that you are not alone if you feel anxious. Even your pastors feel this way every now and then. I pray also that the solution I found for my anxiety might also be yours. Go back to the Word. Lay bare your soul before your heavenly Father. Know that he sent his Son Jesus to take away all of your sins. Bask in the peace of that forgiveness and let go of your anxiety. God is the one who holds the pillars firm. God is in control, even in the midst of a virus and on the cusp of election day.