Favourite statements of David are: "I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?" "When I am afraid I will put my trust in you." God is love and God is faithful. David was totally convinced of this and knew it from experience. "Your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds" (Ps 57:10). I read these words in my quiet time and could see why David trusted him so completely. Later, Sue and I read Ps 36 together: "Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths … How precious is your unfailing love" (5-7).

The Hebrew word translated above as "trust" describes the idea of taking refuge in God and as a result being secure, bold and confident. Webster's Dictionary defines trust as confidence; a reliance or resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship or other sound principle of another person. 

Using the whole of Ps 57, we could conclude that to put our trust in God is to be rescued by him; to take refuge in him and to hide within his care; to be protected by him; to find rest and security in him; to rely on him and be dependent on him; and so to be bold, confident, outspoken and actively involved in establishing his kingdom on earth. Trust also launches us into worship. "My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! (57:7).

Trust in God is like the bottom line; the base on which we are to build our lives. I have to confess that my trust in God doesn't measure up to David's. What might strengthen our trust? Psalms 56 and 57 give us clues. We could be more brave and courageous; stepping out in faith and finding God protecting us and blessing others through us. We could not let the fear of man intimidate us. We could testify to God's faithfulness to us and about those times when we experience the touch of his love. We could regularly affirm: "This I know: God is on my side!" We could meditate on his promises and praise him for them. We could thank him for his involvement with us in all our troubles; that he has never left us or forsaken us. "You keep track of my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." We could praise him more for his attentive, intimate and tender care. (Even as I type this I can feel my trust gaining strength!) Can you think of more ways?