A Plan for Your Darkest Hour (Psalm 34:4-5)

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. ⁵Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.—Psalm 34:4-5

There are many blockbuster promises in the Bible, and today’s verse is a prime example. In Psalm 34:4-5, David models for us what we can do when we're afraid, and he shows us how God responds. David gives us a front row seat to what it's like to depend on God in our darkest hour.

A Reliable Witness

It is truly awful when someone near to us goes through a trial. But there's something remarkably comforting about watching someone go through a trial well. It offers us, as onlookers, hope that we would be as courageous, as comforted, and as reliant on God as that person if it ever came to be our time to experience the same sort of suffering.

I remember like yesterday a time when a friend asked for prayer for a young man struck by lightning while sailing. My friend forwarded email updates from the young man’s father. I hung on every word, awed by the father’s peace and wisdom and confidence in God’s sovereignty. But with each letter and drastic medical procedure, the son slowly slipped away till finally, he died.

As I read, I felt terror for this father. He was living my worst nightmare—a child dying. I felt sure that I could never handle it as well as he did. In fact, I had a hard time understanding this man’s peace. I was terrified for him, but he was not. It was clear that God was comforting, strengthening, assuring, and delivering this father from fear.

Watching what God was doing for this total stranger gave me hope. You might ask, “hope in what?” Hope that if I ever had to suffer like this father, if my faith was ever tested to this degree, that God would be so real and trustworthy that I would value Him more than my hurt and loss. I wondered if I could hold on to God and trust him like that father. His responses renewed my hope that the answer was yes. This father, like David in Psalm 34, was a reliable witness that God would be faithful in my darkest hour.

From Hero to Zero

It's clear from our passage that David was afraid and in trouble. In fact, we know from the backstory to this Psalm that David was running for his life from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 21:8-15). What makes his predicament so remarkable is that David had established himself as a brave warrior who was loyal to the king. He initially sealed his fame by courageously defeating the giant Goliath, armed with nothing but a slingshot. Now David was a fugitive in his enemy Goliath’s hometown of Gath, surviving only by pretending to be a crazy man, complete with drool running down his face. In an unjust turn of events, he had gone from “hero to zero.” He was in trouble.

David Seeks God

What did David do? He “sought the Lord” (Psalm 34:4). He didn’t turn to his friends or his own resources. He turned to God. Based on David’s other prayers for help in the Psalms, we can guess that David asked God for specific and practical help.

God Answers

After David prayed, something astounding happened: God answered him. Don’t miss this. The God who created all that exists, answered a mere man calling for help. And God delivered what he needed the most: peace. Every single one of David’s fears vanished. God delivered him from all of his fears. Isn’t that amazing?

Notice that God didn’t fix David’s predicament. The circumstances that threatened to destroy his faith, hope, and courage were likely still there. What changed was how David was dealing with his circumstances because of what God was doing in his heart.

God delivered something else as well: joy and vindication. David testifies that those who look to God for help are so changed on the inside, that others can see it on the outside. He describes their faces as radiant and says they're never covered in shame. Considering David’s humiliating fall from grace, with drool running down his beard, this is quite a testimony. Despite his circumstances, David was radiant with joy and unashamed because God was on his side. In the New Testament Paul summarizes the believer’s confidence well: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Don't you love the absolutes in these promises? When we look to God, He delivers us from all our fears—those who look to him are never ashamed. There is a reason this verse is so close to my heart. Several years ago, when two of our seven children battled pediatric cancer, I ran to this verse and hung on tight to its promises. When fears overwhelmed me, I savored what this verse revealed about God’s character. I remembered David’s testimony, and those of believers like the father I mentioned above.

When the dreaded days came and I realized that our 14-year-old son Victor was dying, amidst the sorrow, I experienced a peace that I couldn’t explain. It was then that I learned for myself the bedrock truth of Psalm 34.

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For Reflection

1. Is there something that seems unjust in your life right now? Seek God for help and ask Him to help you trust Him to answer.

2. Are you afraid of something that has, or might happen? How can you speak the truths of Psalm 34 to your heart?

3. Do you trust God to answer you? Think back to a time in your life when God answered a specific prayer. Call to mind your favorite Bible accounts of God answering prayer.