Psalm 56:3-13
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. 7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
What do you do when you are afraid (verse 3)? The temptation is to escape to our addiction, which promises to make us feel better for a little while. David could probably relate to those feelings of wanting to escape to some pleasant fantasy, for he supposedly wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him. But his response was to trust "God whose word I praise" (verses 4 and 10). This praise and trust is based on the understanding that God is in control and is watching over him. In verse 8 David recounts how God has even kept track of all his tears. This is not a distant, uninvolved God, but a God who cares deeply about our lives. Thus we can put our trust in God (verses 3, 11), and when we do that, He keeps us from stumbling and helps us to walk in the light with Him (verse 13).
Lord, help me to trust You.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. 7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
What do you do when you are afraid (verse 3)? The temptation is to escape to our addiction, which promises to make us feel better for a little while. David could probably relate to those feelings of wanting to escape to some pleasant fantasy, for he supposedly wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him. But his response was to trust "God whose word I praise" (verses 4 and 10). This praise and trust is based on the understanding that God is in control and is watching over him. In verse 8 David recounts how God has even kept track of all his tears. This is not a distant, uninvolved God, but a God who cares deeply about our lives. Thus we can put our trust in God (verses 3, 11), and when we do that, He keeps us from stumbling and helps us to walk in the light with Him (verse 13).
Lord, help me to trust You.