“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
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?
All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk…
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?..
I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.” Psalm 56:1-6,8-13
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
My soul is in the midst of lions..—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.” Psalm 57:1-4
Psychological attacks and physical ailments, flesh impulses and flesh persecution, crime and oppression. Pressure, strife, and suffering are heavy and persistent, menacing and formidable, unsettling and painful. But they are no match against God whose word is unshakable and who can always be trusted. Match for match, God’s goodness overwhelms evil, His strength swallows the sinister, His comfort soothes suffering, His defense is sure against every ill and power.
What cultural pressures or attacks on mind or body are causing fear? What nagging opposition to my zeal, my hope, my confidence, my joy, pursues my soul? What weariness and worry swamp me in a slough of depression? Considering and praising the greatness of God will refocus my perception, embolden my defenses, and help allay the enemy’s onslaught. How and in what situations will I practically put my trust in Him?
“If God is for us, who can be against us?.. Christ Jesus… is at the right hand of God,.. interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?..
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31,34-35,37-39
Lord, keep my faith steadfast. Help me praise and trust in You, whose love and faithfulness are greater than any enemy. (Psalm 57:7-10)
As the rain and snow 