Day 3 - Week 79 - Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."

I was reminded this evening by Caroline, a young Christian friend of mine (I believe she's 14), that we are told 365 times in the Bible not to be afraid.  And yet, David says, "When I am afraid.."  As many time as we are instructed not to be afraid, our human tendency leans toward fear.  Maybe that's why God tells us so many times not to be afraid, He knows who we are and how easily fear can overcome us.

David follows the statement of his natural tendency with the perfect antidote..."I will trust in You."  No matter what it is that is causing us to have a spirit of fear, when we turn that fear over in prayer to our Father in heaven, He will start turning our minds to Him and bringing to us His peace that passes all understanding.

We have to believe in a God who is truly working all things together for our good in order to have a trust that will overcome fear.  If not, then we still have room to fear, don't we?  If God is not 100% on our side, then we have nothing to combat the many "what ifs" that this life can bring with it. 

But no matter how confusing life's circumstances can be, and how little sense they can make to us, if we have developed a faith that is based in our God who is always good, always loving, always working on the behalf of His children, then we can trust even when we don't understand, even if we can't make sense of things, that He is on our side, and that our lives are still securely in His loving hands. 

I am told over and over again, "Do not be afraid."  But "when I am afraid"...

"I will trust in You."

Day 2 - Week 79 - Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."

"Nine words and ten syllables.  About the same length as your phone number.  But what a life-changing sentence to learn and live!  Notice the opening word---not if but when.  Fear---in its various forms---besets us every day.  And notice what Psalm 56:3 doesn't say:

• When afraid, I will panic or fall to pieces.
• When afraid, I will grow depressed and give up.
• When I am afraid, I will run and hide.

"It says, 'When I am afraid, I will trust in You'---in Your providence, in Your promises, in Your protection, in Your power, in Your peace.  Faith is being confident that God's positives are greater than our negatives, and that His providence is overshadowing our lives.  Faith in a faithful God is the only lasting antidote for debilitating fear."  ~  Robert J. Morgan

When I am afraid...do I trust God's providence, His promises, His protection, His power, His peace? 

When something tragic and unexpected happens, how do you continue to trust in God's protection?

Well, along with trusting in God's protection, you have to pass through the trust of God's providence, promises, power and peace.  For reasons we probably will not see on this side of eternity, loved ones are taken at times when we don't think they should be.  While I am certain that God does not cause these tragedies, I do believe that He determines, in a nano-second, taking all the factors of that point in time into His completely omniscient understanding, that taking them home is the best thing.  He promises us that we will see clearly one day, that He has the power to resurrect those who believe in that power, and that He will give us His peace.

Protection?  I know that we live in a broken world where out-of-control things can happen in an instant.  Where disease can attack quickly.  Where disasters can strike without warning.  Is God going to intervene in these events?  Maybe...sometimes...when He sees that as the best thing.  But I believe that when we pray for the protection of those we love, what God is truly asking us to be seeking is His spiritual protection, just as Jesus asked for His disciples in John 17:15, "My prayer is...that You protect them from the evil one."

We will all die...some sooner, some later...unless Jesus returns for His own before our natural deaths.  When we do, we will leave someone wondering, "Why?  Why now?"  God alone knows that answer.  But what we want to be certain of, and for those we love to be certain of, is that His protection was around us, and that He carried us home.  That is the best protection...because it is eternal.
 

Day 1 - Week 79 - What a verse for the coming week!

Another wonderful night of Bible study with a wonderful group of ladies.  It is such a blessing to study God's Word with women who you know are both seeking a greater knowledge of God, and who truly love each other.

We have spent two weeks on Romans 1:16-17...do you have them down?

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.  For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

What great assurance these verses should give us...God has provided for all to be saved through faith in His plan.

I praise God for who He is...He is over all.  By Him all things were created and all things were created for His glory.  Including me.  I desire to glorify Him every day I remain on this earth, and then I look forward to glorifying Him in His presence for eternity!  That is the day I see through faith. 

Let's review where we've been and then let's add this week's wonderful verse of assurance!


The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

Our next verse?  Back to the book of Psalms...
"When I am afraid, I will trust in You."  Psalm 56:3

Can you get any more direct than that?  Do you have fears?  The past month has confronted me with many times of fear and anxiety.  What is my answer?  I will trust in God.  Why?  Because He loves me...because He knows me...because He has provided for me in the best possible way, He has given me life through Christ.  I will trust in Him.  He is working on my behalf and He is Victory.

When I am afraid, I will trust in You.  Thank You, God, for being totally and absolutely trustworthy.

Day 4 - Week 78 - Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

Faith...such an intangible...so hard to define...what does faith mean to you?

I guess the verse that comes to my mind the most when I think of faith is the one found in Hebrews...."Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

How can you be sure of a hope...how can you be certain of what you do not see?  It is only through faith.  And faith of that magnitude has to be confirmed to you by a supernatural means...and we are promised that, that is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is our confirmation.  He is the voice that reassures us that what we believe is true.

Some will say that we all have our belief systems, and that one person's belief is as good as another's.  I'll go along with that.  But what I won't go along with is that a faith that is grounded in the Word of God and affirmed in a believer by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9:1) is comparable to anything else available to mankind.  There is a difference between belief and faith.  Believing something, to me, is thinking that in all probability it is true.  Faith, oh faith, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Does that mean that Christians never have a moment of doubt?  Nope.  We do.  Because we are still human, with human minds that are vulnerable to outside influence.  But when we ask God to affirm truth, to kindle in us His Spirit so that we are able to see clearly through our eyes that have reborn through belief in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, He is faithful to do so.  Doubts are replaced with confirmation through the Holy Spirit that our faith is solid, our faith is true, what we hope for is sure, what we know will come but we cannot see, is still very certain.

I hope for a life beyond this that is eternal and perfect, where there is no pain or death, where there is no rebellion against God's will and no temptation to do so; a place where we will live in complete and perfect relationship with our Father, forever. This hope is a surety for me; and even though I cannot see this place, I am certain of it.  When I have doubts, I pray for God to confirm His truth again to me, and He is faithful to do so. 

This is how the righteous live by faith...we live because of God's grace and mercy...we live righteously because of Christ...we live by faith because of the Holy Spirit.