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“You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” – Psalm 89:13-14
I am woefully uninformed when it comes to superheroes and comic book characters; a bona fide paragon of cultural illiteracy when it comes to the larger than life network of box office titans whose rippled muscles function as a stress test for spandex manufacturers, and upon whose shoulders the fate of the world rests, at least until the next villainous gazillionaire’s coup de tat is vanquished. “Save us, Batman!” With gravelly, low-toned voices, the heroes confront injustice with intimidation and overwhelming force: “We have a signal now, for when I’m needed. When that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call–it’s a warning … to them. Fear is a tool. They think I’m hiding in the shadows – but I am the shadows;” "None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!” “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
When your world is falling apart, and threats loom large, it is understandable to wish for a bat signal that would conjure up some muscle-bound intimidator who could make all that threatens you dissolve or flee in fear. Unfortunately, though, most threats don’t come dressed like the Joker or Loki. Most of the threats you face will not be blunted with raw and brutish physical force accompanied by that classic soundtrack: Pow! Kaboom! Zappo! Bang! Bonk! Clang! Holy Onomatopoeia, Batman!
Look at the psalmist’s reframing of what constitutes strength and power. “You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand … steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” God’s superpower is a love that will not be deterred, a presence that will not abandon you.. As Paul puts it, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We need, not a Herculean avenger to conquer our fears, but the abiding steadfast love of a God who will face our fears with us. “I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”
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