ARE YOU OVERCOME WITH
FEAR?
Psalm 56:1-2
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.
Again in this psalm, David
describes the difficulty of being oppressed by his enemies. They do it with
arrogance and with relentlessness. But how encouraging are David’s next words:
Psalm 56:3-4
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?
When David is afraid, he
turns to God, trusting in His word, and he is not afraid anymore. Yes, he did
have reasons to be afraid, but as he stopped to reflect on his God, he also had
reason to have courage. What could man do, when God was on his side?
He knew not only that God
was powerful, but that God was aware of his enemies and his needs. He knew that
God would not allow anything that was not best for him.
Philippians 4:19-20
And my God will supply every need of
yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our
God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
EVERY
need will be supplied according to the inexhaustible riches of Jesus Christ.
There are no needs that God will not supply, and there are no needs that are
beyond God’s capability to provide. Do you understand what this means? It means
that if He is not providing what you are asserting to be a need, then God is
not considering it to be a necessity at this point.
There are times where we
need to be without a job more than being employed. There are times when we need
to be abased more than we need to be recognized. There are times when we need
to be hungry or thirsty more than we need to be fed. There are times we need to
be ill more than we need to be healthy. There are times we need to live in the
midst of enemies more than we need peace. There are times we need to have human
fear more than to rely on our own strength. Our times are in God’s hands; He
defines our needs and He provides.
When Paul exclaims, ‘to
our God… be the glory forever and ever’, the implication is that there is never
a time when God does not deserve to be praised personally by each one of us.
The implication is also that if we are finding ourselves becoming bitter or
angry, we are looking to people for our satisfaction instead of God.
This psalm does not imply
that it is easy! It does imply that we have a Person whom we can turn to!
Psalm 56:5-7
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!
David wonders if his
enemies will get away with their evil actions. Does God really care that they
are so intentional in hurting him?
Oh, my friend, if you are
going through this kind of situation, look to the Word of God. Surround
yourself with mature believers. Immerse your mind in the truths of the Word.
Find rest in the promises of God. Rehearse His goodness and remember the times
He has brought comfort to your life.
There is an end to all
things. Christ has defeated death and He is our stronghold. What can flesh do
to me?
Nothing can overcome my
heavenly Father Who sent His Son to die for me so that I could become His
child, and be cared for from now to eternity. Gratitude should be driving our
praise. May we, as His children, never be driven by what drives the world, and
may our reactions never be like those who have no hope.
There are many people
today who need to know our God. May our lives and our reactions guide people to
trust in Him. May this message be our sure hope
and our proclamation to others, even those who are hurting us and are enemies!
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