How Trusting God Dissolves Anxiety
By Dean Collins
Fear is a normal response to events or situations where we sense danger. If, for instance, you are alone walking at night and someone suddenly appears in front of you, fear would be a natural response. If a child or loved one is missing, fear is a normal response. When there are circumstances that we cannot control, it is normal to have some level of fear.
Fear can spring up for the wealthy and for the poor, and people of faith can also experience moments and situations that produce fear. Having fear or being afraid is referenced in the Bible a few hundred times, based on word searches of these two words. God knew that we would have moments of fear, but he doesn’t want us to be afraid.
In Psalm 56, David offers insights into what we can do when we find ourselves afraid: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
David was known for his courage and bravery when he fought and defeated lions, bears, and even the giant Goliath. 1 Samuel 18:7 records that David had defeated tens of thousands compared to Saul’s thousands. Someone with that many victories doesn’t sound like anyone who would be afraid, yet in the opening verses of Psalm 56, David indicated that things were basically out of his control. He was being trampled and attacked and in the situation in Gath, he was actually captured.
We sometimes might feel a bit crazy or like we are losing our mental capacity when we are afraid, but in David’s situation, when he was captured by the Philistines, he chose to act insane so that he would not be killed by the king.
David described that there were times when enemies trampled on him all through the day and injured his cause. David knew first-hand what it was to have enemies plotting and planning to do evil against him, watching his steps, lurking to catch him unguarded, waiting to take his very life. As he experienced these things, he wondered if God was going to allow this to continue.
Twice in Psalm 56 David declared to God that in his fearful moments he placed his trust in God and the result was his fears were dissolved. David reminds us in verse 9 that we do have enemies and that they will turn back when we call out to the Lord. Of course, our greatest enemy is the enemy of God, whom Peter says is prowling around trying to sabotage the kingdom work God is doing in our lives. What we must remember is that Jesus has defeated his enemy through his shed blood on the cross and by his resurrection from the dead. We can declare with the psalmist then, “This is know, that God is for me,” and he demonstrated it through the gift of his Son for our salvation.
We will all have moments where the anxieties of life are magnified because the enemy of God wants to use them to weaken and destroy our witness. But when we put our trust in God, our loving Savior rushes in to comfort, protect, and deliver us from our fear and to strengthen us for continued service in his kingdom!
So today pray with me: Father, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Father, thank you that when we put our trust in you, our enemies flee. So today we declare your praise and affirm that in God we trust, and we will not be afraid. In Jesus’ name, amen!
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 56:1-13; 1 Peter 5:8-11 ESV
Photo by Tim Bogdanov on Unsplash
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