WHAT TO DO WHEN AFRAID

PSALM 56:3-4 NKJ 
3 Whenever I am afraid, 
I will trust in You. 
4 In God (I will praise His word), 
In God I have put my trust; 
I will not fear. 
What can flesh do to me?   

The very idea that King David was ever afraid may seem like a foreign concept.  David, at face value, is one of scripture's super heroes.  But here, in his own words, we hear David talk about his fears.   

David was forced to leave Israel to escape from King Saul.  He went to Gath, an area ruled by Israel's enemy, the Philistines.  Even so, David, although free from fear of Saul, was still dealing with fear of the Philistines.  In fact, David acted like a crazy person in order to escape from the Philistines. They had recalled a song sang in Israel regarding David killing tens of thousands.  So, David, escaped from the Philistines, is living in a cave, and in the cave, he wrote this inspired Psalm.   

Whenever, not if, he had to deal with fear and had to face fears, David declared he trusted God.  One of the ways we can see David's trust is that he was praising God and praising God's word.  He declares that because he trusts God, he did not have to give in to fear.  Because after all, what could flesh (people) do to him.   

APPLICATION 

We all have to deal with fear.  The biggest factor is how do we handle the fear?  How do we respond?   

Taking our cues from David, a strategy for addressing fear is to declare our trust in the Lord and our trust in God's word.  This is a great time to speak a scripture that promises freedom from fear.  It is also good to declare that we trust in God, not people, and we will not fear because God is helping us more than people can hurt us.  Fear will come, but we have a say as to if it can stay. 

PRAYER 

I trust You, Lord.  I love You, Lord.  I praise Your words, and I will not be afraid.