When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? – Psalm 56.3-4 (CSB)
David is on the run. This psalm was not written while David was king, sitting quietly and protected in his palace while sipping a hot cup of coffee. Rather, David penned this psalm on the run from Saul, who wanted to take his life. And while on the run he decided to flee to Gath, the hometown of Goliath.
Gath. Goliath.
The giant whom David had slain with a sling and a stone. And David still possessed Goliath’s sword, which he had taken after fleeing from Saul.
This move by David was not one of arrogance but one of desperation. Derek Kidner says this about David’s decision: “To have fled from Saul to Gath of all places, the hometown of Goliath, took the courage of despair…”
The courage of despair. That phrase stood out to me as I read Kidner’s words. Why? Because how many of us connect despair with courage? I feel like I’m anything but courageous during times of desperation. I still battle the thoughts and ideas that faithful people are ONLY trusting and never struggling with feelings of fear or desperation. You see, I’m still a work in progress and am so thankful for the freedom that God has given to me in surrendering every thought and feeling to his Lordship. I’m grateful that Scripture teaches us about people who were considered faithful and had the same struggles as us. I’m beyond thankful that I can confess my fears and struggles to the Lord, who is for me and not against me. And he is for you as well.
The courage of despair.
Courage. The “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” (cited source).
Courage is not needed during seasons of plenty and ease. There is nothing courageous about living in those seasons because courage isn’t necessary. Instead, courage is necessarily unveiled during times of danger, fear, or difficulty. Therefore, we must thank the Lord for the challenges we face because of his good work in developing the gift of courage within us.
And so, we should read all of Psalm 56 with this in mind before moving on.
Psalm 56 (CSB)
Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me; he fights and oppresses me all day long. My adversaries trample me all day, for many arrogantly fight against me. When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? They twist my words all day long; all their thoughts against me are evil. They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life. Will they escape in spite of such sin? God, bring down the nations in wrath. You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me? I am obligated by vows to you, God; I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you. For you rescued me from death, even my feet from stumbling, to walk before God in the light of life.
What are you afraid of? What is it that overwhelms you and leaves you feeling like you’re drowning in despair? Are you desperate? If so, what are you doing? I only ask because we have a choice that is ours to make from the valleys of desperation. We can lay down in it and be buried by it, or we can have the courage to stand up, confess our fears to the Lord, and then decide to trust in him.
David cried out to God while in his suffering and pain. Amidst desperation and fear, he cried out to God for his gracious help. He confessed his fear and then his resolve to trust in God. He confessed his fear and then decided not to be afraid. And maybe that’s the first thing that needs to happen to overcome what we are scared of.
Admit that we’re afraid in the first place.
Instead of putting on that tough but fake front, we need to confess our fears to the Lord and then courageously trust the Lord while in the valleys of our despair. And we need to acknowledge the great work that God is doing in us WHILE IN the valleys of desperation. He is always training and teaching us (this is called his discipline). And while it is not always enjoyable, it is necessary (Hebrews 12.11). And praise God that he does for us what is needed instead of what we prefer.
So what will you decide to do today? If you’re in a valley of desperation, what will you do? O, how I pray that you will decide to trust in the Lord. I pray that the courage of desperation, which is developed in us in those desperate times, will build up within you the grit and resolve to trust in God. And that we can say with all conviction the same thing that David said: “This I know, that God is for me” (Psalm 56.9, CSB).
Confess your fear. Decide to trust. This is the courage that is found in the valleys of desperation. And in all of it, God is for us.
Praise be to God.
Love you all more than you know. Brian
Brian J Holland 
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