The Daily Walk | 04.22.2026 | Pastor John Dunn | Psalm 56

56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. 7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Transcript

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Good morning, friends. This is John Dunn. As we've watched events unfold in the Middle East in recent weeks, I'm certain we've all experienced moments of fear and uncertainty, as well as a growing sense that our world seems to be spinning out of control. In moments like this, I have found great comfort in the book of Psalms. For example, Psalm 56 tells us that the antidote for fear is trusting in God. Listen to these words of comfort from the psalmist. When I'm afraid, I put my trust in you, in God whose word I praise, in God whom I trust. I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? There are so many examples like this where the writers of Psalms find themselves in fearful circumstances and cry out to the Lord, and God always answers. The biblical lesson for us is simple: take comfort, because the same God who calmed the psalmist in the Old Testament still controls our destiny today. This concept of God's control over people and events, past, present, and future, is called the sovereignty of God. It speaks to the fact that our powerful and purposeful God is in control of everything. The Psalms go on to assure us that God loves us more than we can ever imagine and that his love endures forever. Think about that. What could possibly give us greater comfort than the assurance that God loves us and that he is in absolute control of our eternal destiny? We can trust in that promise. But consider this: it's hard to trust someone we don't know. And there's only one way to really know God, and that's through his living word, the Bible. The Psalms speak frequently about the need to truly know God. Listen to this example from Psalm 9, verse 10. And those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. I think I'll close this message today with a quote from Reverend Graham that speaks eloquently to the fears many of us are feeling. Here's how he put it. I've read the last page of the Bible, folks, and it's all going to turn out all right. Billy Graham knew that God was in control, and we should rest on that same assurance. I hope you have a peaceful day.