Psalm 56

The word for my weekend has been FEAR. I attended a retreat sponsored by the women’s ministry at my church and the theme passage was Luke 12:32-34 which begins “Fear not, little flock…”. I went to a breakout session that my friend Althea led and she taught from 2 Chronicles 20 which has a verse that has recently become a favorite of mine, “… For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (v12b). I went to Bible study Sunday morning and my friend Bill taught a great lesson on Psalm 56. Verse three of that Psalm is one I learned as a child, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

David was running for his life when he penned Psalm 56. He sought refuge in a variety of places, always looking over his shoulder in an attempt to stay one step ahead of King Saul’s bounty hunters. (Think of Harrison Ford in “The Fugitive” and you get the picture.) Even though David was often in danger and was often just plain discouraged, he modeled the right response in verses 4 and 20, “[I will trust] In God, Whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid…”.

What do you fear? That's an easy one for me – snakes and rodents. I know they are part of God’s creation and important in the food chain but those are two links I can do without, thankyouverymuch. But deeper than personal phobias, we fear things like losing our job, losing family members, national security, the future, ungodly leaders, the unknown, health problems, financial woes, CHANGE… the list is potentially endless!

One of the things we discussed was how fear affects us. It is interesting to study our physiological response to fear: increased heart rate and respiration, release of adrenaline, changes in blood circulation, etc. The “fight or flight” response is an amazing thing God wired in us, but beyond the initial bodily reaction, the way we respond to fear speaks volumes about our faith.

It’s perfectly normal to be emotionally-shaken when the storms of life come crashing down on us, but we need to remember that we don’t face them alone. When a violent storm arose on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ disciples did what we often do – they managed on their own until things got out of control, then they looked for Jesus. Imagine their disbelief when they found Him ASLEEP in the stern! The anxious disciples woke up the snoozing Savior and said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38). Interesting that they didn’t ask him to help reef the sails or bail water, they asked if He cared about their situation. It’s easy for us to fall into that same trap of wrong-thinking, “God, don’t You CARE that I’ve got cancer? Don’t You CARE that I lost my job? Don’t You CARE that…”

The answer to that one is easy, YES. Yes, God DOES care when the storms of life come because it’s in the storm that we look for Him and where He reveals Himself to us in a way that we’ve never before seen. When Jesus came up on deck, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves “Peace. Be still.” and the disciples witnessed a demonstration of His awesome power in a way they wouldn’t otherwise have seen. And I bet Jesus cast a reproaching glance toward His frantic friends as He spoke to the elements because then He turned to them and asked, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Feelings and emotions are powerful and they have the potential to send us spiraling into a pit of despair, but we can have command over them by the power of God’s SPOKEN Word. I’ve collected scripture over the years that address specific situations and when I begin to feel strangled by my emotions, I confess “This is what I FEEL (fear, anger, doubt, despair…) but this is what I KNOW (insert applicable verse here!)” and I continue on, reciting His attributes: goodness, faithfulness, compassion, love, grace, mercy; He is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present… Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people, so when we open our mouths to declare His praise, we open the door for His presence to wash over us with a peace that is incomprehensible.


Something else that I’ve found helpful is to ask myself, “What is the WORST thing that can happen to me?” and then remember that regardless of what happens and where I end up, God will BE THERE! That path may be steep and rocky and treacherous, but He will have walked EVERY STEP of that path with me and will have a PLAN for me THERE! And His plans are designed for our good and for His glory so FEAR NOT, little flock!!