It’s interesting to see how often our greatest life decisions are motivated by fear. The question is: why do we allow ourselves to be THAT afraid?

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalms 56:4 David writes this Psalm while he was fleeing Saul and gets taken prisoner by the nation of Gath, where he was hiding in refuge. It is as if David used this Psalm to remind himself of the actual paradigm in his reality despite his certain circumstance. That is to say, David saw something in his situation that would provide hope, guidance and resolve for his immediate future. When we praise God, and only when we praise Him, do we have the ability to trust Him. When I’m talking about praise, I’m not just talking about singing songs. I’m referring to the act of remembering and pointing out all the reasons why God is awesome and wonderful to us. When we start raising those points, we allow ourselves to trust God. (You can use this method to trust other things and people, too). But David was reflecting positively on one aspect of God’s personality– His “word.” God had promised him that the kingship of Israel was his. Knowing the character of God, and being promised the kingship, David was able to trust God DESPITE his current circumstance. The conclusion of this trust is that nothing is going to stop that promise of God from becoming the reality God intends. So, why do WE make our decisions in a state of fear of our current situations? If we believe God is faithful to His word, shouldn’t we be preparing ourselves for what God has promised even though we currently may not be seeing or experiencing that? Of course we should. In fact, we need to stop making decisions based on our fears because that actually works against what God promises us for our lives. If you don’t know what God promises you, then you need to ask Him; however, for the rest of us, we need to start living into His promises and make decisions that reflect our trust and faith in God. Let me tell you how this Psalm concludes: “For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” (Psalms 56:13 ESV). Yes, the conclusion is that we are still alive because there is a promise to fulfill. Therefore, you shall not be afraid because in God you trust.