← The Psalm world
Illustration for Psalm 56: When I Am Afraid

Psalm 56

When I Am Afraid

ComfortProtectionWhen Afraid

David was being chased by enemies and felt scared — but he chose to trust God instead of staying afraid. He said 'When I am afraid, I will trust in You.' God keeps a record of all our tears. Trusting God takes away fear!

  1. 1Be gracious to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack.
  2. 2My adversaries pursue me all day long; many are proudly fighting against me.
  3. 3When I am afraid, I will trust in You.
  4. 4In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
  5. 5All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are bent on evil against me.
  6. 6They conspire; they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited to take my life.
  7. 7On account of their iniquity, will they escape? In Your anger cast down the peoples, O God.
  8. 8You Yourself have recorded my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your record?
  9. 9Then my enemies will turn back on the day I call. This I know— God is for me.
  10. 10In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,
  11. 11in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
  12. 12I am under vows to You, O God; I will fulfill my thank offerings to You.
  13. 13For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.

What it means

Look closely at what David says: not "I am never afraid," but "When I am afraid, I will trust in You." Being scared is not a failure. Being scared and turning to God anyway is real courage. And God cares so much that He keeps a record of every tear you cry.

A little prayer

God, when I am afraid, I will trust You. Thank You that being scared doesn't mean I've done something wrong. Thank You for noticing every tear and never forgetting me. Amen.

Memory verse

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

Psalm 56:3 (BSB)

It gives you something to do with fear rather than something to feel instead of it.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. David says 'when I am afraid' — not 'if'. What does that admit?
  2. The psalm says God keeps our tears in a bottle. What does that picture tell you?
  3. Is being brave the same as not being frightened?
  4. What is one thing you are afraid of that you have never said out loud?

Try this

The tear bottle

Find a small bottle or jar. Every time someone in the house cries this month, drop a bead or a grain of rice in. At the end, look at it together and read verse 8.

You will need: A small jar and something small to drop in.

From the blog

When You Feel Afraid →

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)