January 12th
THE PSALMS
Psalm 54-58
On days when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3, International Standard Version
Theme: Fear and Faith.
Background: David escaped to Gath by pretence of insanity (1 Sam 21; Ps 34).
56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
It is not a matter of “if” we feel fear, but “when.” Yet when fear comes, it need not victimize or paralyze us. Our innermost being, our spirit within us, says, “I will not accept the verdict of my emotions about this situation; I will turn to God. I will find a promise of God that meets my need and trust Him. See fear as a fresh opportunity to trust God.
56:8 “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”
The detailed memories of past miseries may fade but God has stored them in his “
leak-proof leather bag” of his infallible memory (2 Kings 20:5). When Satan accuses me and says to God: “Look you have protected this man, no wonder he serves you!”; the Lord with pride raises up my personal bag of stored tears and replies: “No, I have not protected him from everything, see his many tears; yet he is still loyal to me!”
56:9 “This I know, that God is for me.”
God was for you
before the foundation of the world; when His beloved Son died for you and is with you now, every minute of the day (Rom 8:31). The Septuagint reads, “Look, I knew that you are my God.”
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there!
