Where Do I Turn?
When I am afraid, I put my
trust in you. In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 (NIV)
“In God we trust” have been a source of
encouragement to many weary souls over the centuries. Interestingly they were
adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. The phrase, “In God
we trust” has appeared on U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since
1957. Ironically, where do we place our trust in these days?
Psalm 56 was written by King David in
the context of threat and perceivable danger.I Samuel 21, 22 give us the
historical background. Here we read of a hero who once faced and killed the giant
from Gath, single handedly. After several years he found himself running for
his dear life because his father in law was trying to kill him. He came to the
city of Gath where he was seized by the Philistines and brought before King
Achish. You might remember this story, “where David acted insane before the
King and was eventually driven out from his presence. From Gath he went and hid
himself in a cave called Adullam. In that cave David, did not feel like a hero
any more, in fact he was a zero, a nobody. In that dark place he felt
humiliated, crushed, and alone in other words he was at rock bottom. There in
that despondent situation he wrote Psalm 34 and Psalm 56.
David openly acknowledges that the
things some people do can cause us to walk in fear. People can say and do hurtful things to us
and to the ones we love. Fear is a reality we all have to deal with at one time
or another. It is not a weakness we have, it is an element that arises from the
fact that we live in a fallen and sinful world. It only becomes a problem, for
a believer, when it begins to be the most compelling factor in our walk,
causing us to respond more to the fear than to the Lord who indwells us and
promises us He will take care of us and protect us.
David teaches us how to deal with fear,
not how to avoid it. We deal with it by choosing to trust in God, by praising
His name and His word. David knew when he was afraid where to turn and who to
trust. He turned to God’s word and he put his trust in God. Where did he get
that confidence from? Has it happened over night or has he learned to trust in
God from a very young age? Is it possible for us to place our trust in God in
the age of science and technology?
From the beginning David knew where to
turn when in fear. As a young boy when David faced the giant he said, “You come
to me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the
LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted?” David
exhibited unwavering confidence in God. If such a confidence in God resides in
us, flows through us, what can any mere man/woman do to us?
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