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? Psalms 56.3-4
The psalmist begins
by admitting that there are times when he is confronted by some sort of danger
and as a result, becomes afraid. That's quite helpful. God doesn't expect us to
be immune to fearsome things.
What's also quite
helpful is how our friend responds to that fearful situation. He doesn't give
in to the fear. He responds by a conscious act of putting his trust in God. In
particular, he holds onto appropriate promises in that God has made in His word.
And out of that comes this: 'I shall not be afraid'. And he adds the reason why
he won't be afraid. 'What can flesh do to me?' It's good to note that that
statement remains true even if the worst happens. Even if he is killed.
Something as evil as death isn't something for us to fear. So, whatever else
our enemies, both human and demonic, throw at us we can have the same
fearlessness.