OPEN IN CASE OF FEAR
Psalm 56:3-4 NKJV
3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
David wrote this psalm after being captured by the Philistines. He was running from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. David escaped to Gath, the hometown of Goliath, the giant David killed. But the Philistines knew who he was, and David had to act like a crazy man in order to escape. David may have written this on a dark night in Gath. We can easily see from reading this psalm that he is in a tough spot.
David mentions men fighting against him and trying to swallow him up. He mentions enemies being oppressive. The people against David have twisted his words, and their thoughts about him are evil. But. I appreciate that in many of David’s psalms, he expresses the severity of the problem but rarely stops with the problem. He moves on to the solution.
Twice in this short psalm, David reveals the antidote for fear. Fear comes, but David has an answer: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” He is sharing what he does when he is afraid. The problem is not so much that fear comes. The problem is the wrong reaction to fear. When David was afraid, he chose to trust God. I will is a strong statement. I will trust in You is a personal expression to the Lord.
And David is not done. “In God I will praise His word, In God I have put my trust.” The trust is twofold - in God’s Word and in the person of God. David trusts what God has promised in His word and his appreciation for God’s word is immense. David understood the power of God’s word as well as anyone in the Old Testament. Then he expresses trust in who God is. The reality of the living God was a major factor in his life. David was the one who wrote the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He was not trusting in a religious form but in a powerful God.
Because of David’s trust in God’s Word and in the reality of God, he declares he will not fear. “What can flesh do to me?” is more of a rhetorical question. In observing David’s life, his trust in God as opposed to his fear of man is evident. Twice, he declares this same remedy. Putting trust in God. Praising God for the comfort and strength of His word. Choosing to trust and not yield to fear. Minimizing the power of man.
APPLICATION
Most of us are not facing enemies looking to swallow us up. But we do have an enemy of our soul. Satan would want to oppress and have us respond to fearful thoughts and feelings. We can apply the same remedy for fear that was so effective for David—expressing our trust in God. Praising God for His promises to us and taking them personally. Choosing to not act in fear and expressing our belief that God is stronger than the people around us. People may try to hurt us with words or rejection, but our God is greater, and we choose to trust, not be afraid.
PRAYER
Lord, You are my strength and shield. I trust in You. I trust Your word and promises. You are bigger than my enemy Satan. You are bigger than the attacks of people. I will not be afraid.