The verses (1-4) set for reading and meditation come from Psalm 56 - another of David’s psalms, this one concerns the time when the Philistines seized him.
”O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me.
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”(New Living Translation)
Selwyn mentions this psalm in his study: “In this psalm – the psalmist confesses to being afraid. Which of us has not been afraid when slandered or vilified by others? … But doesn’t the Bible exhort us over and over to ‘fear not’? … When Scripture tells us not to fear it is not telling us to pretend we are unafraid; it is telling us to look beyond the reasons for our fear, to God.”
On our journey there will be times when we will experience negative emotions such as ‘fear, anger and depression’. The best way to manager these types of emotions is to identify them, and not to deny that we are feeling a certain negative emotion, or that the feelings are trivial and should soon pass. It is not a sign of weakness to recognise the truth of our situation – this side of the grave we are never perfect.
As David once wrote: ‘ when I am afraid, … I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” We too, can trust in Jesus that He will save us from our fears – in a way, we can offer our negative emotions to God who has control over everything and He can change ‘tears’ into a ‘smile’ - persevere in prayer and place your trust in Him.
Facing Feelings
The verses (1-4) set for reading and meditation come from Psalm 56 - another of David’s psalms, this one concerns the time when the Philistines seized him.
”O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me.
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”(New Living Translation)
Selwyn mentions this psalm in his study: “In this psalm – the psalmist confesses to being afraid. Which of us has not been afraid when slandered or vilified by others? … But doesn’t the Bible exhort us over and over to ‘fear not’? … When Scripture tells us not to fear it is not telling us to pretend we are unafraid; it is telling us to look beyond the reasons for our fear, to God.”
On our journey there will be times when we will experience negative emotions such as ‘fear, anger and depression’. The best way to manager these types of emotions is to identify them, and not to deny that we are feeling a certain negative emotion, or that the feelings are trivial and should soon pass. It is not a sign of weakness to recognise the truth of our situation – this side of the grave we are never perfect.
As David once wrote: ‘ when I am afraid, … I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” We too, can trust in Jesus that He will save us from our fears – in a way, we can offer our negative emotions to God who has control over everything and He can change ‘tears’ into a ‘smile’ - persevere in prayer and place your trust in Him.