Tag: Psalms

Big – Psalm 29

Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
“The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”

Psalm 29 presents God in terms David’s world could grasp: crashing seas, towering mountains, mighty forests, and the memory of the Flood itself. These were not poetic exaggerations to ancient readers; they were the largest, most untamable realities they knew. By invoking them, David is not trying to make God feel comforting or relatable—he is emphasizing God’s overwhelming power and authority.

That perspective matters. We are prone to interpret life as though our immediate problems sit at the center of the universe. Psalm 29 dismantles that illusion. God’s voice thunders over oceans, strips forests bare, and shakes mountains. He remains enthroned and fully in control. Creation responds instantly to His authority, while human anxiety often assumes He is distracted or distant.

And yet, this is where the Psalm becomes deeply personal. The same God whose voice commands the waters is not indifferent to His people. David ends the Psalm by reminding us that this mighty King gives strength to His people and blesses them with peace. God’s greatness does not diminish His care; it magnifies it.

Worship, then, is not primarily about what God does for us, but about who He is. When we lift our eyes to His majesty—seen in oceans, mountains, and skies far older and larger than ourselves—our problems are rightly resized. They do not disappear, but they no longer dominate. God remains vast, sovereign, and enthroned, and somehow still attentive to the details of our lives.

That truth invites a quieter confidence: our troubles are not ultimate, but God is.

Thanks – Psalm 100

Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100 is short, but it is sweeping. It does not address Israel alone. It calls all the earth to worship the Lord. That would have stood out to the original readers. Israel did have a unique covenant relationship with God, but this psalm makes it clear that God’s authority and worthiness extend far beyond one nation. He is Creator, not just of Israel, but of everyone. Because of that, everyone is invited to approach Him with thanksgiving and praise.

What is striking is what the psalm does not say. It does not tell us to praise God because He has given us prosperity, safety, or success. The reasons given are entirely God-centered. He made us. We belong to Him. He is good. His love endures. His faithfulness continues through all generations. Praise is not rooted in circumstances; it is rooted in who God is.

That exposes something in me. I am quick to praise God when I can point to visible blessings. But this psalm calls me to something deeper. Gratitude that depends on outcomes is fragile. Praise that rests on God’s character is steady. If He is worthy because He is Creator, Shepherd, good, loving, and faithful, then He is worthy whether life feels full or thin.

The proper response is simple, but not easy: praise God because He deserves it. Not as a religious obligation, and not merely as a reaction to blessings, but as a settled posture of worship. Today, that means intentionally thanking Him—not first for what He has done for me, but for who He is.

Fear – Psalm 27:1

Psalm 27:1 NIV
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”


David opens this psalm by asking a question that almost answers itself. If the Lord truly is his light, his salvation, and his stronghold, then fear no longer has a rightful place at the center of his life. This is not a denial that enemies exist or that danger is real. Other psalms make clear that David was well aware of threats, betrayal, and suffering. The difference here is perspective. Fear is no longer the controlling force; trust is.

The fear of the Lord that Scripture commends is not dread or panic. It is reverent trust—an acknowledgment that God alone has ultimate authority, power, and wisdom. That kind of fear actually displaces other fears. When God is seen rightly, enemies shrink to their proper size. Problems remain serious, but they are no longer ultimate.

David does not move immediately to strategy or solutions. His deeper desire is closeness with God—dwelling in His presence, worshiping Him, and finding joy there. That priority reframes everything else. Security is not found in frantic action or clever plans, but in communion with God.

For me, the temptation is often not fear itself, but self-reliance. When problems arise, it is easy to rush toward control, activity, and fixing. Yet this psalm calls for stillness before action. Trust precedes effort. Confidence flows from knowing who God is, not from how capable we believe ourselves to be.

Sometimes the most faithful response is not to grasp for answers, but to stop, re-center, and remember: the Lord is the strength of my life. Fear does not get the final word.

Help – Psalm 121:1–8

Psalm 121:2 (NIV)
“My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

This psalm is a declaration of confidence in God’s protection. The psalmist lifts his eyes toward the hills, not because help comes from the hills themselves, but because they point beyond human strength to the Creator of everything. For the original readers, this was a reminder that God had not abandoned them and would not do so. He neither sleeps nor looks away. His care is constant, personal, and complete.

This passage always makes me think of a scene from The Lord of the Rings. The defenders are hiding behind the walls of a fortress while the enemy attacks relentlessly. It looks like all hope is lost. Then, at the last possible moment, help arrives from the hills above and completely changes the outcome. That image fits this psalm well. God is not distant or unaware. He is positioned above the battle, fully able to act, even when the situation feels hopeless from where we stand.

What I need to remember is that I have been in those moments many times. Times when I felt like I was doing something worthwhile, or simply trying to endure, and the pressure kept mounting. God did not require me to solve it on my own. He already had a plan. Sometimes deliverance comes late enough that it feels like it barely arrives in time, but it does arrive. When things feel overwhelming, I need to lift my eyes instead of lowering my expectations. God hears. God sees. And God has a plan.

Refuge – Psalm 46:1–11

Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

This psalm speaks to people living in a world that feels unstable. The writer describes upheaval in the natural world and chaos among nations. Mountains fall, waters rage, kingdoms rise and collapse. None of that is minimized. Instead, the reader is called to respond by trusting God, who stands above both nature and history. Peace does not come from control or certainty, but from knowing that God remains present and powerful no matter what is happening around them.

It is easy for me to get distracted by the size and scope of world events. In our time, that distraction often comes through politics, conflict, and constant news. Those things can feel overwhelming and even decisive, as if they are the main story. This psalm reminds me that they are not. God is not reacting to history. He rules over it. The natural world and human affairs are both under his authority.

What I need to do is resist the temptation to treat my problems or the news cycle as the ultimate reality. That way of thinking places far too much weight on human power and far too little on God. Staying close to him puts everything back into proper proportion. Reading this Psalm, I am reminded of a line I had on a poster as a kid, a simple prayer asking God to “help me be a winner in his eyes first, and only then in my own.” That perspective matters. God is my refuge, despite the constant upheaval around me, and that is where my confidence belongs.

Fear & Courage – Psalm 31:19–24

Psalm 31:24 (NIV)
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”

David writes this psalm from a place of having come through distress. This passage is about fearing God, not man, and then taking courage because God will protect and provide. God saw, protected, and provided—even when it felt impossible. What begins as a cry of need resolves into confidence and praise.

This is not a shallow optimism. David does not deny danger or suffering. Instead, he testifies that God’s faithfulness extends even into moments where rescue seems unlikely. Because of that experience, he turns outward at the end of the psalm and calls others to be strong and courageous—not because life is easy, but because the Lord is trustworthy.

For me, this passage is a reminder that strength is not found in self-reliance or clever plans. It is found in trusting God’s character. Fearing the Lord does not mean living in anxiety or dread. It means recognizing who He is—and who I am not. God does not ask me to outmaneuver my problems. He asks me to place my hope in Him, knowing that He sees more, knows more, and can act where I cannot.

Taste & See – Psalm 34:1–10

Psalm 34:8 (NIV) – “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

This psalm is an outpouring of praise. David is not speaking in theory. He is responding to a very real moment when he cried out to God in fear and was heard. God protected him, provided for him, and surrounded him with care. David describes the angel of the Lord encamping around those who fear God, a picture of active, personal protection. He even goes so far as to say that those who fear the Lord will not lack any good thing.

That last statement can feel bold, even uncomfortable. When I read it alongside the rest of the Psalms, it becomes clearer. David also wrote many psalms of desperation, pleading for help when things were not going well. This one shows the other side of that story. God was not ignoring him. God was (and is) at work, even when it may not have looked that way in the moment. Still, it raises honest questions when we look at people around the world who are crying out to God and seem to be lacking so much. We also need to remember that scripture does not pretend those situations don’t exist.

What this passage reminds me is that no problem is too big for God. His provision and protection are not limited by the size of the need. God cares about my fears, my needs, and my safety. Even when I do not understand how provision shows up, I am called to trust that God is bigger than the problem and that He is paying attention.

The Lord Is My Portion – Psalm 16

Psalm 16:8 – “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

This Psalm paints a picture of steady confidence in God’s care. The writer keeps coming back to what God provides: protection, wisdom, guidance, and peace. What stands out is that the focus is not just on what God does, but on the proper response to it. Praise flows naturally from trust. God is seen not as a backup plan, but as the source of everything good.

For me, this passage is a reminder that God will never abandon his people. He is faithful to provide direction and wisdom when I ask, even when I am not seeing it, and he guards my life in ways I often take for granted. It is easy to fixate on circumstances and worry about all that I lack and the things I don’t have, but this psalm keeps pulling my attention back to God’s goodness. Whether life feels smooth or uncertain, the heart of the passage is gratitude. God himself is the gift, and everything else flows from that.