Psalm 56 Devotional

Afraid and Still Trusting

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”Psalm 56:3 (BSB)

Psalm 56 belongs, by its heading, to the time the Philistines seized David in Gath (56:1). All day his enemies twist his words and watch his steps, waiting to take his life (56:5-6). David does not claim to be fearless. He admits there are times he is afraid, and says that in those moments he puts his trust in God (56:3).

Fear and trust live side by side here. Twice David praises God's word and asks what mere people can do to him (56:4, 56:10-11). Faith is not the absence of fear but the place fear is brought. And God is paying attention. He has kept count of David's wanderings, and David asks him to store his tears in a bottle, sure they are already recorded in God's book (56:8). The psalm closes with thanks to the God who rescued him from death so that he can walk before God in life and light (56:13). Fear does not have to vanish before trust begins. It can be the very moment trust begins.

To think about: What fear is pressing on you right now, and what would it look like to bring it to God instead of waiting for it to pass?