Certain Trust

Oct 14, 2015 1365

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you (Psalm 56:3).

David–the mighty man of God who stood up to the giant Goliath with only a sling-shot and five smooth stones when the rest of the Israelite warriors were in terror of becoming slaves to the Philistines–wrote this verse of scripture during a period of intense anxiety over enemies who were conspiring to destroy him. The verses before and after Psalm 56:3 describe an enemy that was determined to assassinate him for political purposes. They were constantly lurking in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to kill him–the future King of Israel.

It is not that David did not have faith in God, but he realized his own inability to control a situation that seemed hopeless. The constant political attacks and personal assaults were wearing him down and making him miserable. He was embarrassed at his weakness and spent many nights in tears over the condition of the nation that God would entrust to his care. It appeared to him that he was caught in a situation between political enemies in Israel and the enemies of a foreign land (Unger, 2002, p. 826). There didn’t seem to be any way to escape.

But notice David’s reaction to this problem. He didn’t surrender to his enemies, but he decided to place His life in God’s hands. Even though David had no idea how God would solve the problem, he knew that the God who counted his tears would handle the situation:

“Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me” (Psalm 56:8-9, NIV).

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