When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3 (NLT)
When David penned this psalm he’d just been seized by the Philistines. Despite his dire situation, David clung firmly to God’s promises. Look at verses 3 and 4; “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” He goes on to say in verse 9, “This I know: God is on my side!”
How often do I need to be reminded that God is on my side! I know it, theoretically, yet somehow, when my back is up against a wall, I find myself listening once again to that voice of fear. It’s worth noting that David did not say, “I’m not afraid because I put my trust in you,” but “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” David was not some super-human. He experienced fear like the rest of us. This gives me great consolation that my fear is not ‘unchristian’.
Yet in that moment, David did not wallow in his fear or feed it. He ran to the One who could help him with his fear. Verse 4 goes on to say, “I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” David measured his fear up against his God and fear came up short.
Fear says, “God is not enough.” God says, “I am all-sufficient.” Fear whispers, “What if …?” God states, “I have promised….” Fear says, “I’m doomed.” God declares, “Deliverance is mine.”
Trust is not instinctive. It is a lesson we have to diligently study in God’s classroom. Trust is a daily surrender, a moment-by-moment dying to self, as we learn to lean into God and circle back to His promises over and over until we’re no longer fear’s hostage but its conqueror.
Thought: “Knowing that God is faithful, it really helps me to not be captivated by worry. But knowing that He will do what He has said, He will cause it to happen, whatever He has promised, and then it causes me to be less involved in worrying about a situation.” – Josh McDowell
For further reading:
- Joshua 1:9
- Psalm 9:10
- Psalm 13:5
- Proverbs 3:5-6
Excerpt from A Year in God’s Classroom