What Time I Am Afraid

Psalm 56:1–4, “Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”

David does something in Psalm 56 that I think all of us need to learn.

He admits that he is afraid.

He does not pretend to be fearless. He does not hide his circumstances. His enemies are real, the pressure is real, and so is his fear.

Then he says, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”

Notice that David does not say, “If I am ever afraid.”

He says, “What time.”

Fear will come. The question is what we do when it arrives.

David makes a choice: “I will trust in thee.”

Trust is not pretending that everything is fine. Trust is placing the thing that frightens us into the hands of the One who is greater than it.

And then David points himself back to the Word of God: “In God I will praise his word.”

Fear speaks loudly. It tells us what might happen, what could go wrong, and why we should panic.

God’s Word reminds us of what is true.

So when fear speaks, answer it with truth.

We may not always control the first feeling of fear, but we can decide where that fear drives us.

Let it drive us to the LORD.

Act Today: When fear enters your thoughts today, use it as a reminder to pray. Say David’s words: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Then replace the voice of fear with a truth from God’s Word.