Finding Encouragement in the Psalms
How do you deal with the challenges of this world? Where do you turn to find encouragement to give you hope and help you get through your circumstance? We know in life we’ll always face trials; Jesus told us that in the world we would have tribulations and in Him, we would find peace. The Bible illustrates all of life’s challenges, circumstances, and situations that we face today and we can always find a scripture or verse to help us deal with them. In particular, you can find encouragement in the Psalms to give you hope to get through the issues of life.
King David has had his share of life’s challenges, as well as finding hope, joy, peace, and comfort in the bosom of the Lord. I find his experiences very inspiring and encouraging. This is why I always turn to the Psalms when I’m going through challenging times. He has shown us how to deal with the trials of life, particularly how to stay hopeful and continue trusting in the Lord because all our hope, strength and help come from Him. He has also demonstrated that when you’re faithful to God, He always comes to your rescue and delivers you in your times of need.
Today, now more than ever, with the world in the state that it’s in, we need encouragement to help us stay hopeful in the Lord. During my trying times in life, I always find encouragement in the Psalms to get me through. The book of Psalms is not only encouraging but, it instills hope which enables you to keep going and trusting in God.
When I’m reading the Psalms, I like to personalize them and read them back to the Lord as a prayer or to give praise and thanks to Him. Of course, it depends on the context. As stated before, the book of Psalms demonstrates a lot of the issues of life through David’s experiences. So, we can relate to David’s prayers and supplications to the Lord. David encouraged himself with God’s Word and always prayed about everything. In addition, he always praised and thanked God for his blessings and God’s faithfulness toward him.
First off, I’ve decided to start off with Psalms 139, because it was one of the Psalms that got me through deep despair in the past. I had actually stumbled upon it when I was searching for a scripture to help comfort me and give me hope. I believe the Lord led me to it, and now it’s one of my favourites. I remember when I first read it, I broke down crying because it reminded me that God was with me and He knew everything I was dealing with and how I was feeling. It quieted my mind and spirit and gave me hope. I knew at that moment that God was present with me and I was not alone.
Moreover, Psalms 139 is a very powerful Psalm because David talks about God’s omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. He reminds us that God knows everything about us, so no matter what we’re going through, God knows. He is present with us everywhere we go, and He has the ultimate power to affect change in our lives and work out circumstances in our favour. Below is just a couple of verses from the Psalm. I highly encourage you to read it in its entirety to see the wonders of God’s almighty power and our place in Him.
“O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compasseth my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.”
“For thou hast possessed my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee, for I am fearfuly and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Psalms 139:1-4;13-14
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in Him will I trust.”
Psalms 91:1-2
“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
Psalms 91:9-11
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I wil set him on high, because he hath know my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Psalms 91:14-16
“I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right Hand, I shall not be moved.”
Psalms 16:8
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forever more.”
Psalms 16:11
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 27:1
“For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavillion, in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me. He shall set me up upon a rock.”
Psalms 27:5
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake. Yea, though, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of my enemy. Thou annoinest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalms 23:1-6
“Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalms 37:4-5
“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love Him.”
Psalms 148:18-20
“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And, they that know thy name will put their trust in Thee. For thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
Psalms 9:910
“My soul wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, He is my defence, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.” Selah
Psalms 62:5-8
“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.”
Psalms 10:17
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
Psalms 126:5
“My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil, He shall preserve thy soul.”
Psalms 121:2;7
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
Psalms 55:22
“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
Psalms 34:17-19
“Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy.”
Psalms 33:18
“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. I Iaid me down and slept and I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.”
Psalms 3:3-5
These Psalms are very encouraging and inspire hope in anyone struggling with the trials of life to help them get through them. God’s Word is powerful and real, and everlasting. And David wrote his Psalms (not all were written by him), with conviction and with deep feelings and emotions expressed. Through his words, you can tell the level of belief he had in God because of his many experiences when God rescued and delivered him in his times of trouble. Thus, we can find encouragement in the Psalms to get us through anything in life.
David shows us how when we’re faithful to God and live to serve Him righteously, His Holy Spirit will always be with us and help us through our circumstances. David’s experiences and that of the other believers in the bible aren’t different from our experiences today. They found encouragement and hope in the Lord to get them through their trials and tribulations; and because they have gone before us, we can get inspiration, encouragement and hope from them to learn how to trust God for positive outcomes in our situations and lives.
Consequently, I found, and still find, encouragement in the Psalms to get me through life’s challenges, and I know that you will too. Read and meditate on the words, and where applicable, personalize them and use them as prayers to God. Make it a habit to seek hope and encouragement in the Psalms for everyday living to sustain you.