Psalm 56

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?
David’s escapades in the hills of Israel while fleeing Saul’s men in 1 Samuel feels like watching an old episode of Kiefer Sutherland’s show “24”.  We get a clue when we read Psalm 56 when he says “men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack.  My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.”
Unless you are leading a life I know nothing about, not many of us can say that “men hotly pursue me”.  But what about the other things that seem to be constantly behind us as if in hot pursuit?
               Betrayal
                              Worries
                                             Disappointments
                                                            Grief
All these leave us fearful, hidden and alone.  David offers a remedy which he found to be tried and true.
Verse 3 starts off with when.  It’s a condition and when that condition occurs something else will happen.  This type of conditional sentence is used when you express general truths of the real world.  It is not hypothetical such as the idea of what would you do if you won 5 million dollars?  The winning of a 5 million dollars is unlikely.  However, there are general truths that happen when one condition occurs and is followed by a result.  For example, “When it rains, the grass gets wet.”   Or “When you bring a snowman inside, it will melt.”
 
When I am afraid—that is the condition.  And who of us hasn’t been afraid? Or fearful? Or worried?  When those feelings come up, what is the response?  David simply says, “I will trust in you.”  Like the snowman who is brought inside by a hopeful child is sure to melt, David says the likelihood of being afraid and following through with trust is also a reality.  It was almost as if it was automatic response.
What do you do when you are afraid? Or lonely? Or desperate?  “In God I trust: I will not be afraid.”
​
Heather 

​3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 56-58