PSALM 56:3-4 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

THEME OF THE DAY: WHEN WE ARE FEARFUL. In the Old Testament book of Psalms, often preceding the specific Psalm is an event in history giving us the context from which it is written.  Today’s Psalm is one of those.  David, the Psalmist, was seized by the ruthless Philistines in Gath.  And that awful emotion, an emotion we each know well, grips him.  David is afraid. Very afraid. He repeats this paralyzing emotion in verse 11 – “In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Being afraid is a horrible experience. Someday we will never again be afraid, but that day isn’t today.  This strong emotion can grip us with such force we may struggle to function in just the normal affairs of life.  And there are numerous causes of us being afraid; sudden circumstances that threaten our health, uncertainty about our being able to provide for ourselves and family, difficult relationships, fear of people, and we each may add to the long list of what causes this horrible emotion to seek control of our lives.  David felt fear’s grip, but he wouldn’t allow it to control him.  And he provides us with three helps that, like him, we may apply to defeat this beast.

First, don’t try to deny, mask or ignore being afraid.  It is real.  David doesn’t say, “If I am afraid” but “When I am afraid.” We will never overcome any sinful emotion by ignoring it. And yes, sinful fear, whatever the cause is sin. We are commanded throughout scripture not to be afraid so to be afraid is disobedience which is sin.

Next, exercise our will over the emotion of being afraid. This isn’t easy. Yet we must take hold of ourselves. David resolves to put his trust in God. He refuses to be controlled by fear.  And to show us how intense this battle is, twice he tells us “in God I trust.”  We must follow his example by putting faith in God despite the strong emotion of fear, and we stay at it refusing to give in.

A third application from David is reliance upon God’s Word and that through praise – “In God, whose word I praise.”  It seems odd, I know, yet praise is a strong weapon against anything or anyone seeking to control us by fear.  You might say, “How so? “Praise takes our eyes off us and what is tempting us to be afraid.  When we are focusing on God through His Word, praise comes to our heart and drives away fear.  We renew our minds with His promises of strength, His presence, and all the help we need to conquer fear.  The result is praise and the powerful Word of God is no match for what fear wants to do to us.

When we are afraid.  It is a real and painful experience, but it doesn’t have to control us.  We will consistently defeat it when we exercise faith in God and resolve to praise Him through His Word.

PRAYER: Father, I praise You for granting me all I need in You and Your Word for me to overcome fear.

REFLECTION: Someday we will never be afraid again. That day is not today but that day will come.