Everyone is good at something. Well…most people are good at something. I suppose some people are good at not being good at anything…Maybe…

Fearing is one of my strengths. I didn’t think I did, but I was just not aware of it when I was. I wouldn’t call it “fear.” I would call it “preemptive planning,” “cautionary daydreaming,” or “wise foresight.” I can come up with names all day long, but when it comes down to it, I fear. When I am ignorant of what is happening/what will happen, or when I feel as though I have no control over a situation, I fear.

David found himself in this type of situation many times. One specific time was when he fled to Gath from Saul in 1 Samuel 21:10. There we saw that fear turned David into a fool.
Psalm 56 is a reflection on this fearful situation.
“To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.” (ESV)

Notice the verbs used of his enemies:

They trample. They attack. They oppress. They injure his cause. Their thoughts are against him for evil. They stir up strife. They lurk. They watch his steps. They wait for his life. They commit crimes.
David was in a difficult, fear-inducing corner.

Have you ever felt this way? Perhaps you have felt that fear is doing that to you. Fear is stalking. Fear is oppressing. Fear is lurking.

Before we leave the Psalm, I ask you to look back and read what it says about God. The next post will walk through the steps David purposed to take in his fearful circumstances.

To hear our personal testimony about Fear and Trust you can listen here.