David was a giant-killing, monarchy-building, conquest-leading he-man. And he was fearful.

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But in Psalm 56 he says, "WHEN I am afraid..."

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In this psalm, he has run from King Saul and found (brief and ill-conceived) refuge with the Philistines in the city of Gath. That, by the way, is Goliath's hometown. So David wasn't really all that popular there, either. He will eventually fake being a drooling maniac in order to escape. Good times.

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But David had an interesting response to being afraid. "I will put my trust in You." So David trusts God.

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The Hebrew word for "trust" is batach, which means "to throw oneself down on the ground." It is a full-on position of worship, which is displayed by total subservience. He is face-planted. He bows before God, not before the armored enemies around him. He asks the rhetorical question, "What can mere man do to me?" (He actually asks it twice, 56:4 & 11.)

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God has captured David's (and yours and my) tears in a bottle (56:8). He has all our struggles written down, meaning He sees all the details of our lives.

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The one who will trust God in times of trouble can be assured of a delivered soul and feet which don't stumble. "I may walk before God in the light of the living."

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The one who was being trampled (56:1), throws himself on the ground before God (56:4), then walks before Him in front of the tramplers (56:13)!