Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust and faith in You.
Life is filled with faith stealers, such as doubt, stress, and uncertainty. Perhaps the most common and harmful of these, however, is fear and its physical manifestations of anxiety. Fear is our human response to situations we don’t understand and over which we have no control. When this becomes our reality, we peer into the future and try to see what lies ahead. What we can discern in the darkness and shadows leaves us crippled by fear and anxiety.
Fear is a tool used by the enemy to create chaos in our lives and diminish our faith. The enemy is skilled at deception, and his strategy is to direct our focus toward our fears—what we can call False Evidence Appearing Real—rather than on the one in whom our faith rests: Jesus Christ. When we submit to fear and allow it to control our minds, we give Satan a foothold in our lives.
How can we free ourselves from the grip of fear and bring those fears under God’s authority? In Psalm 56:3, David says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” Notice he says “when” and not “if.” He recognizes that, given the fallen nature of our world, we will encounter fear. David’s response is to turn to God, clinging to Him with childlike faith, fully assured of God’s love. To combat the lies the enemy plants in our minds, we must exercise our faith in the truth found in Scripture.
Fight lies with truth. Only God knows everything: the past, present, and future. All His works have been known to Him from eternity. We cannot begin to fathom the depths of His knowledge and understanding (Romans 11:33). Therefore, when the enemy corners us with fears that are based on vague possibilities in the future, we should combat those fears with truth-based thinking. Use Scripture to counter the lies. Let’s build our understanding of Scripture. Even if all that remains in our faith tank is the smallest whisper of faith, it is enough when placed in the hands of an all-powerful God.
“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.”
Reflections: Sometimes to overcome your fears, you’re going to have to face your fears, but once again take comfort because God is with you. Satan will try to increase our fear but remember God’s faithfulness in the past.
“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” Corrie Ten Boom
Prayer: Father, when fear attacks me, I want my first response to be to run to You in childlike trust. In moments like these, I pray that I would be protected by Your unshakeable trustworthiness. You alone know what lies ahead of me and in Your faithfulness, love, and care please lead me into each new day.
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