Read Psalm 59
As I read Psalm 59 preparing to write this Monday psalm for us, I was brought to the conclusion that this psalm is about the fear the devil tries to elicit from us and how David combats the devil’s tactics.
The background of this psalm is that Saul sends his men to watch over David’s house in order to kill him. I’d say that’s a pretty fearful situation. He’s tied up in his house knowing that there are people sent purposefully just to kill him. The psalm makes mention that the guys are there prowling like dogs totally unsatisfied until they get what they came for. So what’s David’s emotional response?
What stood out to me is that David’s response is not fear. Instead, he calls for God to act - “Protect me”, “Deliver me”, “Awake”, “See”, “Rouse yourself”. He seeks help from where he knows he will receive it. Verse 9 is my absolute favorite, David states “O my Strength, I will watch for you”. How I have needed that verse these past couple months with a newborn! I know you are here, God - give me eyes to see you today!
Towards the end of the psalm, David declares that he will sing of the Lord’s strength and recognizes how the Lord has been a fortress and a refuge and that He shows steadfast love. So there you go: The devil, through Saul and his men, is trying to elicit fear from David and David’s response is to call on the Lord to act and praise Him in the meanwhile.
How is that possible? How is David able to ward off Satan’s attack to draw his attention away from God and spiral into fear? He understood what 2 Timothy 1:7 proclaims, which is “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” By broadcasting God’s strength and love through this psalm, David is bringing truth to the situation. But what about self-control? How does self-control defy fear? This is where, in my heart, it gets really good! Here’s why!
This link is to Lisa Feldman Barrett’s TedTalk, “You aren’t at the mercy of your emotions: your brain creates them.” Her studies as a neuro-scientist have found that our emotions are actually guesses and predictions based on the actions and experiences made today and in the past (i.e. a learned response based on your perceived reality/truth/experience, etc.) David’s heart was so in tune with the truth of scripture and his experience of God’s faithfulness that his emotional response to his current circumstances reflected it.
We may not have the ability to control our daily circumstances, but we do have the ability to control what we believe and that will establish our responses. I am reminded of Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Again, what we perceive as truth will evoke our emotional response. David believed that God would fight for him as “The Lord of hosts” and he acted from that certainty. I pray that whatever your daily circumstances are today that you are reminded of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness just like David.
— Dana Holtkamp