David’s Psalm 56 song lyrics resonate with me when I battle serious illness symptoms and have fearful thoughts of “what if.” David was afraid of what might happen because, practically based on his human understanding, his enemies would likely kill him (1 Sam. 21).
David’s lyrics acknowledge our very real emotions, “WHEN I am afraid” (v. 3) of the results of living in this fallen world of sin, filled with sin’s evil effects. When we’re afraid, we’re imagining the outcome of something that might happen in the future, perhaps based on what we’ve experienced before. But our imaginations are often not true. They’re lies. How many times have you noticed that your fears don’t always happen?
Beloved, we must battle the lies of the enemy in our thoughts, by God’s grace and strength. Why? Over and over in His Word, He tells us:
How? For me, in the realities of serious illness and all the fears it can bring, God has graciously helped me battle in similar ways as David. If you’re walking in a battle with fears in stress-full situations too, this is for us, together!
Throw all my anxieties onto God in prayer
As David does, I must acknowledge fears first, telling my Father all my emotions and perceptions of the whole situation. It’s honest, real, talking to my loving Father, as a humble and weak child. I don’t need to muster up brave, declare courage, plaster on a fake smile, or deny my real emotions. He already knows my anxiety and my tears (Ps. 56:8).
“Thought replacement” with truth of Scripture
I call it “thought replacement.” When my fears about “what might happen” fill my thoughts, I need to replace them by actively thinking about what’s true (Phil. 4:8). I need to fight the enemy with the sword of the Spirit, Scripture, the only offensive weapon in spiritual battles that suffering produces.
Like David’s Psalm 56 song, I need to put these thoughts on repeat.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid (Ps. 56:4 ESV).
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid (Ps. 56:11 ESV).
As in the Psalm 56 song, replacing fearful thoughts with singing of my trust in God is the chorus, the lyric on repeat, interrupting my lament over the anxious situation.
Sing of God’s unchanging character to battle fear
Lord, what can I trust You to be, in what might happen tomorrow? Who are You? What does God’s Word say on repeat?
Scripture tells us who God is…and I think we must carefully choose and sing songs that worship Him as such. We need to fill our minds with songs that sing what is always true about our Father, even in tomorrow’s potentially hard situation.
We can sing songs that praise God’s attributes, His unchanging essence, His immutable character. We could sing of His forever-existing faithfulness, grace, compassion, total power, sovereign reign and total control, glory, covenant love for His children, wisdom, goodness, presence with us, justice, perfection, holiness, patience, and help. This is only the beginning!
Let’s sing an old hymn as a song on repeat for the next couple of weeks. It’s a battle song when we’re afraid, especially when we’re afraid that evil will win, in what we are suffering. Because what is true about God?
A Mighty Fortress IS our God!
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper He, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great;
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
(“A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” Luther, M., 1529)
A playlist to battle fear with praise to God
I made a little picture to explain what the Lord has me do, battling fear by taking “every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5), through filling thoughts with praise and gratitude to Him, when fear of plausible situations arise. The double arrows mean it’s a continual back and forth process when the battles arise.
So, as is the pattern in Scriptural lament, praising God for His unchanging character and truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ fill the lyrics in this week’s playlist! If it would help you in your battle against this world’s fears, let’s battle together with songs that praise God with Scriptural truth. As one of my favorite pastors says on repeat, “Jesus wins!” And that means He can win over sin in our thought battles too!
If you’d like to battle together, sign up here and I will send you the playlist I’m using this week!
