March 9

Psalm 56

Very often, I have a difficult time identifying with the speaker in some of the psalms.  Normally, I do not feel like I am being attacked by enemies who “conspire, lurk, and spy on my movements, determined to take my life” (56:6).   If I have any “opponents” I certainly wouldn’t describe them as “hordes coming in to the attack” (56:2).  As a result, it is sometimes too easy for me to disregard a psalm like this as not really having anything to offer, and I move on simply feeling badly for whoever the speaker may have been. 

Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was the same as the speaker in Psalm 56, and I had even been praying those very words! No, my “attacker” was not in human form, but tiny cancer cells that had invaded my body without my knowing.  Throughout the scary and uncertain time of diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and finally chemotherapy, I felt helpless.  It would have been very easy to be overwhelmed and lose hope.  However, I found myself strengthened by the prayer for God to “Raise me up when I am most afraid, I put my trust in you” (56:3).  I found comfort in the knowledge that “God is on my side.” And, “In God I put my trust, fearing nothing” (56:10-11).  Trust in God’s  presence and knowledge that He was beside me made it possible to face each challenge. 

In our lives today, we are constantly attacked by invisible “hordes,” things like illnesses and accidents, economic uncertainties, conflicts at work or with family.  To help us manage stress and unforeseen attacks, it helps to remember that we are not alone.  Sometimes the most helpful thing we can do is to let go of the things we have no control over, and put our faith and trust in Him.