Encouragement

Many are the troubles of the just man, 
but out of them all the Lord delivers him (Ps. 34:20). 

Almost everyone I know right now is going through "troubles," whether from the aftermath of the storm or from concern over health problems, or worry about family problems.  For some, it never seems to let up, and discouragement sets in, and then depression, robbing one of energy and the joy of life.  

It saddens me that so few people will turn to the Psalms for encouragement.  I completely understand why people will not read other sections of Scripture when they are feeling discouraged, because, unless the Holy Spirit is leading you to the exact passage you need at the moment, it takes some energy to do "Scripture study."   But the Psalms were made for times like this.  

Although not all of the Psalms were written by David, they all had their origin in his experience of being hated by a madman and of being pursued by an army seeking to kill him.  Hiding out in the wilderness of Judea, sleeping in caves, experiencing hunger and thirst on a daily basis, David had no hope except in God Himself -- the Good Shepherd.  He had a few men with him, who themselves were helpless against Saul's army.  And even when the opportunity arose to kill Saul, David could not bring himself to do harm to "God's anointed."

In the Psalms we find every human emotion, from despair to joy.  Even the feeling of wanting to destroy one's enemy and to "smash his children's head against the rocks."  (C.S. Lewis' Reflections on the Psalms is a great help for those who find such sentiments revolting.)  But my point here is that the Psalms encompass all of our human reactions.  They do not "worry" that such feelings are "unchristian" or unworthy; they acknowledge the spectrum of human experience, and because of that, we can find a home, so to speak, in their verses.  

It is always so encouraging to find someone who understands what we are going through, and who can give us some hope out of our despair.  I love to stumble across just the words I need in times of discouragement.  I wrote yesterday about discernment of spirits; what the Psalms do for me is give me peace.  Proverbs 25:11 says, A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.  When I find exactly what I need to hear, that's indeed like "apples of gold" to my spirit.

If we can find nothing else in Scripture to encourage us and to once again "set us upon a rock too high for (our) enemy to reach," (Ps. 18, paraphrased), the Psalms offer a wealth of supply for our need.  Back in 2010, on my way to the doctor only to find out I had lung cancer, I was listening to Charles Stanley talking about Ps. 57:1:  I will hide in the shadow of his wings until the disaster has passed me by.  Even before the diagnosis had been revealed, peace descended all over me and never left.

The Word of God is living and active and more powerful than any two-edged sword, ...discerning the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb. 4:12). We need to put it to work for us!  Once the Psalms have applied balm to our wounds, the rest of scripture can begin to penetrate our hearts and minds also.