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? In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise.”
Pay attention to the first four words in today’s scripture. David does not say, “If I am afraid.” He acknowledges what is true of every human being and even human beings changed by the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. We get afraid. When sin entered into the human experience so did the experience of being afraid. Right after our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God the word “afraid” appeared-And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself”(Genesis 3:8-10). So, it will never be “if” when it comes to situations and circumstances making us afraid in life, but “when” and God has given us ways to overcome those fearful times. They are modeled in today’s scripture by fearful David.
First, we do battle against fear and being afraid by exercising personal resolve to trust the Lord. This is a battle because fear is a powerful emotion and won’t be defeated easily, but it can be. David acknowledges his fear and immediately puts his will to work. He directs himself–heart and mind–to trust God. But to do so we must override emotion with truth. When fear raises its paralyzing head, remember who God is to us. In fact, put the truths of who God is to us from the opening two verses of Psalm18 to work in our thinking – I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18:1-2). Fear is no match for our God who is our strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Keep attacking fear with the truth of who God is and those emotions of being afraid will melt like an ice cream cone on a hot July afternoon.
Another thing David did when afraid was praise the Lord. Three times we read of his personal exclamation of praise. I know what we might be thinking–“Praise? Worship? When I am afraid? I don’t do that. I need deliverance, power, and strength.” Well, guess what we get when we praise and worship our Lord? Deliverance, power and strength. Why? Our focus is off our fear, off our circumstances, off our situations and on to the Lord. And when we are looking unto Jesus, worship occurs and where worship occurs, fear will not (Hebrews 12:1-2). Try it the next time we are afraid. Stop and praise the Lord for the very circumstance tempting us to fear. We won’t be afraid much longer after we start to worship.
When we are afraid, not if we are afraid, will be constant temptations in this life. Yet, we don’t have to yield to fear. Resolve to trust the God who is for us and praise the God who is for us. Fear doesn’t stand a chance when we do both.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to praise You not only when I feel like life is easy but also in the trying and fearful times.”
QUOTE: “Praise is a powerful weapon against discouragement and fear for it takes our eyes off ourselves and on the Lord.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim