From Fear to Faith

The object of your faith is so important. We’re not talking about moving from fear to faith in general, as if the object of your faith doesn’t matter. That’s how the world often tries to cope with fear—by telling us to put faith in ourselves, in our circumstances, or in other people. But that’s not where David puts his faith. He puts his faith, his trust, in the character of God. So, what about God’s character should compel us to trust him? Consider what Psalm 56, as well as the rest of Scripture, reveals about God’s character:

He is the omnipotent God. Four different times David refers to God in this psalm by using the Hebrew term Elohim. This is the most common word for “God” in Scripture, and it often carries with it the idea of God’s authority and power as Creator and Sustainer of everything in the world. Confidence in this God leads David to say, “In God I trust; . . . What can mere mortals do to me?” We’ve already seen that people can do a lot to us. However, what people can do to you must be put in light of what God can do for you. The same goes for the world in general. The basis for fear is what people (or this world) can do to you, and the basis for faith is what God can and will do for you. What David says here fits with what Paul says in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who is against us?” Likewise, when Jesus sends his disciples “like sheep among wolves” (Matt 10:16), he tells them three times not to be afraid (vv. 26,28,31). The reason they do not need to be afraid is that, though people can do a lot of things to them, even kill them, God alone has the power and authority to save their souls (v. 28). He is omnipotent over all.

He is the merciful God. The omnipotent God is merciful to us in our time of need. So David cries from the first verse, “Be gracious to me, God.” David knows God delights in showing mercy to the overwhelmed and the opposed, the alone and the afraid, so he cries out for grace, for unmerited, much-needed mercy. The omnipotent God of the universe is an endless source of grace to those who trust in him, to those who cry out to him. He is the merciful God who tells his people to cast their cares on him, because “he cares about you” (1 Pet 5:7).

He is the God who judges sin. In verses 5-7 the psalmist calls down God’s judgment against his enemies. Such passages leave some Christians feeling confused because we’re not accustomed to praying for the punishment of others.

David is referring to unjust men who are wrongfully opposing him and sinfully plotting to take his life, so he cries out for God to show his justice. And David is also calling for judgment against “the nations” (v. 7). This reference to the nations gives us a larger picture of sinful peoples and armies that are unjustly attacking and opposing David and others who are part of God’s people. David finds comfort and hope in the fact that God will indeed judge sin.

This kind of prayer in the psalms really hit home when I spent time in the Himalayas recently. I saw the face of human trafficking and the villages where little girls were taken, and I walked past the brothels they were taken to. I found myself praying (with tears) not only for those girls but also for the men (and women) who were trafficking them and running these brothels. On the one hand, I prayed for God to save those men and women. If, on the other hand, that was not God’s plan, then I found myself praying for God to smite them, to shut them down, to stop this injustice. And I find myself praying this way every week when I pray for the oppressed and the enslaved. I find comfort in the fact that God’s justice will prevail. Those who traffic boys and girls will not ultimately get away with their sin. God’s justice brings hope and stabilizes faith in a world of heinous evil.

It’s worth noting briefly that sometimes we are overwhelmed, opposed, alone, or afraid as a result of our sin. For instance, if you are unrepentant and experiencing church discipline, then you may feel overwhelmed by those approaching you and calling you back to Christ. And if you’ve spurned those attempts to bring about your repentance, then you may feel opposed or alone. The last thing Scripture is calling you to do in this situation is to take comfort in God. No, Scripture is calling you to come back to God. Until you repent, you have reason to be afraid. You need to put your trust in God’s character. The one who takes sin seriously is the one who desires to show you mercy and unmerited grace.

He is the God who sees, hears, knows, and remembers suffering. Psalm 56:8 may be the most beautiful verse in this psalm. David knows the character of the one to whom he is praying.

David recognizes that God has “recorded my wanderings,” and he asks God to “put my tears in your bottle” (v. 8). Because they lived in arid climates, ancient Israelites would preserve precious liquids such as water or wine or milk in special containers. David was asking God to store his tears like that. He knew his tears were precious to God, every single one of them, and that they were in God’s “book” (v. 8).

Suffering friend, overwhelmed and opposed, alone or afraid, the God of the universe knows every time you’ve tossed back and forth in the bed. He sees and counts every tear you shed; he hears every single cry; he records and remembers. He never forgets any of these things. The omnipotent God is not indifferent toward you. He sees, hears, knows, remembers, and cares for you in all your suffering.

He is the God who delivers from darkness and death. After hearing about God’s compassion, you might be tempted to say, “That’s nice, but what good is it if God can’t do anything about my suffering?” This is the beauty of verses 9-11, where David reaffirms his confidence in God. Then, in faith, David mentions vows and future offerings in verses 12-13.

Keep in mind, David says this while he’s still in the fearful throes of Gath with King Saul and his army on his heels. Yet David promises to render “thank offerings” to God (v. 12) because he knows that he’s praying to the God who “rescued me from death” and kept “my feet from stumbling” (v. 13). Although enemies may assail your steps, and trouble may pack your path, God has the power to keep your feet from faltering.

He is the God who gives light to life. In this psalm that begins with such a bleak picture of being overwhelmed and overtaken by trouble, David ends by saying he was rescued in order to “walk before God in the light of life” (v. 13). God takes us from death to life, from darkness to light. Instead of stumbling, we walk by faith in the God who saves.

So to return to our original question, What do you do when you’re overwhelmed or opposed, alone or afraid, or all of the above? The first thing to do is to put your trust in the character of God. The second thing flows directly from the first.

Lift Your Heart to the Word of God

Three times in this psalm David praises the Word of God (vv. 4,10). Clearly, then, God’s Word has a fundamental place in moving from fear to faith. And David is not just reading God’s Word, or knowing God’s Word, but praising God’s Word. Consider three reasons we ought to praise God’s Word.

His Word is supreme. Some people might be uncomfortable with the language of praising the Word of God, as if we’re making the Word out to be an idol. However, God is OK with viewing his Word like this. After all, this is his Word giving us this picture (in a positive light). And this isn’t the only place we read this kind of language about God’s Word—his commands and promises. Consider the following verses:

I will lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and will meditate on your statutes. (Ps 119:48)

I will bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your constant love and truth. You have exalted your name and your promise above everything else. (Ps 138:2)

God puts his name on the same plane as he puts his Word (cf. Rev 3:8). So praising God’s name is similar, at least in some sense, to praising his Word. Therefore, trusting God in the midst of despair must mean trusting his Word.

His Word is sure. Many commentators believe David’s reference to the word of God here is not just a general reference to God’s Word as a whole but a specific reference to God’s promises about making David king. Back in 1 Samuel 16, David was anointed king by the decree (the word) of God. So now when David is forced to flee King Saul, fearing for his life, he remembers the word, God’s declaration, and he praises it. If that word is true, David has hope. If that word is true, then he knows he will be delivered from darkness and death and walk in the light of life.

Of course, you and I don’t have this specific word of promise given to David. However, we have something better. We have sixty-six books that are the written, revealed Word of God on which we can bank our lives. These sixty-six books are filled with countless promises that God is with us and for us, promises of peace and comfort, guidance and grace, promises to love and lead us, promises worthy of our praise and delight (e.g., Rom 8:31-39).

His Word is sufficient. Regardless of what we’re going through, God’s Word is what we need. In a real sense it’s all we need. Oh, if only we would believe this! There’s a good illustration in Numbers 13–14 of the role of the Word as it relates to fear and faith. God’s people came to the edge of the promised land and sent spies in to scout it out, and most of those spies returned afraid. They feared they couldn’t take the land because the people there were too large. Unfortunately, those spies won the day; they convinced the people that the land God had promised them for centuries was impossible to take.

But then Caleb and Joshua stood up and said, “We can take this land.” They became models of faith, but what they had was really pretty simple. They trusted in the character of God, and they praised the word of God. God had spoken. He had said this land was theirs. It was that simple for Joshua and Caleb. For if God had spoken, then the issue was settled. This was also true for David in Psalm 56.

When we face cancer, fear, or any other difficulty, we must trust that God’s Word is sufficient. However, we cannot lift our hearts to his Word if we don’t know his Word. This is why we should regularly read and meditate on the Bible. Certainly there are days when we wonder how a particular passage or chapter applies to our life. Perhaps God is using our reading of the Word on a particular day to prepare us for something coming in the future. Let us join Caleb and Joshua and David, and scores of brothers and sisters who have gone before us, believing that God’s Word is supreme, sure, and sufficient.

This psalm does not end in verse 13, for it points to something greater. More specifically, along with all of Scripture, it points to someone greater.

Place Your Hope in the Son of God

Jesus Christ is the center of the Bible, and he is the center of this hymnbook known as Psalms. Therefore, the ultimate exhortation in Psalm 56, when seen in light of the entirety of Scripture, is this: when you are overwhelmed or opposed, alone or afraid, place your hope in the Son of God.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, encapsulates the first two exhortations above. He is the fullness of God’s character. All of the attributes of God we’ve see in Psalm 56—his omnipotence and mercy, his justice and kindness—are revealed in the person of Christ. And so the call to put your trust in the character of God is a call to put your trust in Christ. He is the one who delivers us from darkness and death, for he has taken the judgment due our sin. Jesus has died on a cross in our place, and he has risen from the grave in victory over death so that you and I might walk with God in the light of life.

Just as David said in Psalm 56:9, “This I know: God is for me,” so Paul says of those who are in Christ: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31). Such faith is grounded in the work of Christ for us. If God, through Christ, has saved you from sin, death, hell, and the devil, then in what circumstance in this world can you not trust him? What can man do to you? You can trust God amid overwhelming opposition, loneliness, and fear. He has taken on sin and death on your behalf, so you now have nothing to fear.

Finally, we can put our faith in the Son of God because he is the Word made flesh. David praises God’s word because it brings light to his life. Jesus says,

“I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. . . . A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 8:12; 10:10)

Christ, the Word of God made flesh, is the light of life. Fix your gaze on the face of Christ, and you will find yourself moving from fear to faith. Like David you will find yourself saying, “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?” (Ps 56:11).

Reflect and Discuss