“Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!”

Psalm 55:1

David was a great warrior king. He was incredibly brave and fearless in his brief encounter with the giant Goliath, and with his many battles against the enemies of Israel. Yet David had times of fear and trembling too. In verse 4 of this Psalm, he says that his “heart is in anguish”. In verse 5, “Fear and trembling have come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.”

The Bible tells us that God recorded David as being a man after His own heart. (1Samuel 13:14). How can a man of God’s own heart be trembling with fear? Because he is a man! David was just a man, a human being like everyone of us.

Human beings are imperfect and sinful; even the best of them. While David had learned to fight lions and bears in his youth, and became a great military leader in later life, he still had his moments of fear and heart anguish.

As we read through the Psalms, we need to learn how David dealt with his fears. In verse 16 we read, “But I call to God and the Lord will save me.” David knew that his own mental ability and natural bravery were not enough to defeat his thoughts and feelings of fear. He needed the supernatural intervention of God. Verse 17 tells us that he prayed throughout the day for God’s help, and acknowledged in his heart and mind that God heard him. In verse 18 we read of his confidence in God; “He redeems my soul in safety”. The defeat of David’s fear began as he cried out to God in trust and faith that He would help him. This is not the power of positive thinking, or positive affirmations, but absolute confidence that God would hear him and help him to face whatever lay ahead. Repetitious words cannot save us. Affirmations may make us feel good about ourselves for a brief moment of time, but prayers of faith directed to the God who hears and loves His people are the evidence of a man/woman who knows that God is his only hope and help.

In verse 22 David challenges everyone of us to “Cast your burden on the Lord.” This is a call for a faithful trust. He goes on to explain that when we do this, God will “sustain us.” God has promised to walk through the fiery trials of life with us, sustaining us every step of the way.

So many people have the concept of a slot machine God – prayers in, answers out, and if it doesn’t work kick the machine a couple of times and then walk off in a bad temper. But that is not the God that David worshipped, or the God that we learn of when we study Scripture. Jesus tells us that the Christian walk is a narrow and difficult path to follow and that we need a constant resilient faith to continue on the pathway that leads to heaven. Resilient faith is the faith that David had. It was that unshakeable trust that God was with him and would sustain him in the midst of every battle he faced. His heart was steadfast in his love for God and the knowledge that God loved him, even when he was fearful and trembling. That is how David dealt with his fears, and that is how we are to deal with ours. No matter what we may be facing today, as Christians we are to learn to pray continually, and then trust in His Present Presence to sustain us through our fears and trials and lead us to our eternal home.