A Fixed Heart

“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD”

Psalm 112:7

During my husband’s recent open-heart surgery, a friend sent a verse she had read that morning in devotions, which God assured her was meant for him. “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise even with my glory” Psl. 108:1. I’m not sure she read it with the same double entendre I did, but my own first thought was, “Yes, thank God, it surely is fixed!” J Later, I began to think about the blessing of “fixed,” as in repaired, and “fixed,” as in definitely and permanently placed. In my own reading today of Psalm 112:7, God seemed to expand my thinking. 

This Psalm gives a further description of the much referred to “blessed man.”  In this one, he’s a God-fearing man. “Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD…” (v.1). This man, it says, will not be afraid of “evil tidings.” And they come to one and all, good or bad. It can be either bad news or bad experiences. But the fact is, “man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7).  You’ll find no qualifiers in that sentence. The only variable is the presence or absence of fear, and all other fears are diminished in direct proportion to the fear of God.

What is the defining characteristic of the fearless man or woman? His or her heart is fixed. Fixed on the Lord, not a doctrine, a duty, or a dream, but a Person. Everything and everyone in our lives are moveable and subject to change, nothing on which to cling. To anchor our lives to those things (and people) that can slip away gradually, or at a moment’s notice, is to set ourselves up for overwhelming fear when the evil tidings come. I have long believed that the only wise way to build a life is to center it around that which cannot be taken away. And for me, it has been the ever living, eternal — and praise God! — accessible Son of God.

The Psalmist says assuredly, “My heart is fixed.” It’s a deliberate, knowable choice. It can, and should be, more binding than any attachment in life. A fixation is an unnatural preoccupation. That’s what I’m talking about. Fixation on Jesus Christ that treats the fear of losing wealth, love, prestige, health, home, or country, or any other “evil tidings” as momentary distractions from fellowship with Him. As the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus/Look full in His wonderful face/And the things of earth will grow strangely dim/ In the light of His glory and grace.” It’s not the overcoming life, but the overwhelming life!

If your heart is not fixed on Him, it needs to be fixed by Him