I Shall Not Be Afraid (David) - March 5

Read Psalm 56:3-4, 8-11

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?...You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Reflect

What do you know about David’s life? Despite his highs and lows, what remained constant?

He stood head and shoulders above everyone else. He wore a coat of mail, had a bronze helmet, and bronze armor over his legs. He was armed and dangerous with a sword, javelin, and a spear. Every day, this Philistine, Goliath, provoked God’s people, asking for a fight. If he won, the Philistines would own the Israelites. But if someone beat him, the Philistines would have to serve God’s people. Day after day, Goliath would taunt King Saul and his Israelite army. But the Israelites trembled in fear. No one would oppose the giant.

No one, that is, until a boy named David overheard Goliath’s taunts and said, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). David went to King Saul and volunteered to take Goliath down. Saul tried to talk him out of it but David boldly declared, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37). You see, rehearsing God’s faithfulness to deliver him in the past had bolstered his faith that God would deliver him again.

So, David took five smooth stones from the brook, took his sling, and approached the heavily armored Goliath proclaiming: “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:45-47). All it took for David to bring Goliath down was a single stone.

David was but a young boy when he took down Goliath, but his faith and courage were no doubt admired and deeply respected by all that day. After this incident, David grew to be a brave warrior for Israel and eventually, Israel’s second king. On the outside, it may have seemed like David wasn’t afraid of anything. But David wasn’t just a mighty warrior, he was also a musician and a poet who let us see inside. He poured out his heart to God in his writing and from those psalms we know that David did experience fear, sorrow, and even despair. He may have seemed larger than life, but he was merely a man—a hunted man at times. He ran for his life, lived on the run, hid out in caves…His own son drove him out and attempted to take his throne.

David was not completely fearless. But in today’s verses (and in his declarations as he opposed Goliath), we discover the source of his bold confidence. He was not confident in himself, he was confident in the Lord. He never said, “I am never, ever afraid.” He said, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3). This was the constant theme throughout all of David’s life—He turned to the Lord and he trusted the Lord.

As we go through life, fearful situations are inevitable. The question is, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to let fear win? Are we going to cower and worry and hide? Or, are we going to be like David and choose to put our faith and trust in God?

There are two strategies of David that I use when I am struggling with fear. First, I rehearse all the ways that God has already delivered me from fears. Second, I remind myself that because I belong to God, there is nothing in this world that has the power to truly harm me. “This I know, that God is for me…in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:9, 11).

Respond

Lord, I confess that sometimes fear gets a hold of me. But I don’t want to be a cowering Christian. I want to be brave and bold and confident, not in myself or my own strength, but in You and You alone. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3). Amen.

Reveal

Rehearse all the ways that God has already delivered you with a friend. It will bolster both your faith and your friend’s.