15 Psalms to Read When Life Hits the Fan
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- Updated Mar 30, 2022
Pause for a moment. What’s on your mind? I can tell you what’s on mine. Russia and Ukraine. Inflation. Gas prices. Work. Relationships. Loneliness. Gender dysphoric kids. Fear and anxiety. The list goes on and only seems to grow by the day. Now, what’s on yours? Are you contemplating a potential World War III, or wondering if you’re making enough money to stay above the hike of inflation? Maybe you’re lonely or have a child suffering from gender dysphoria.
There’s so much occupying our minds these days, so much beyond the typical pursuits of life at work and life at home. Our attention is drawn from one news event to the next. One month we are stressing about Afghanistan, then back to COVID, then briefly in Waukesha, and now on to Ukraine.
The news cycle bombards us with information, some of which is true, some of it not. Nonetheless, we are affected by everything we hear. Encouraged to live a certain way, wear a certain thing, or think a certain way. We feel, we react, and sometimes, we panic.
People made jokes about life in 2020, but those jokes have changed to encompass this year and the past three. Life really does seem to be hitting the fan.
And maybe life is, but when the world is going crazy there’s not very much we can control. The little we do control often involves just ourselves.
So the next time we want to reach out and forcibly change someone’s heart, stop a war, or start one, we should do something else instead. Read God’s Word.
The Bible is packed with accounts of people facing impossible odds, gloomy days, and dark seasons that in the moment seemed to have no end. Surely that’s how we feel from time to time, but feelings are not always accurate. Fears are not always reality.
Let’s make the conscious decision today, to take whatever is on our minds and bring them to God. And from there, let's refocus on what He wants us to dwell on, instead of our problems. Here are 15 psalms to read when life hits the fan.
15 Psalms to Read When Life Hits the Fan
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3)
A shepherd’s job is to take care of his flock. We are a part of God’s flock. He guides us through life, through the peaceful moments and the seasons of calamity. He guides us through it all for His name’s sake.
“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.” (Psalm 27:10)
No matter who enters into our lives, no matter who leaves, God’s love for us is not contingent upon anyone. The most important people to us could leave today. God will still be with us in the end.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4)
Delighting ourselves in the Lord means to live life according to His tenets. When we live as God wants, there are many blessings that follow. Some of these blessings are the desires of our hearts.
“When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
We are but one among billions of people inhabiting the planet. Just one. And we live on just one planet upon a cosmos of other planets. Yet, God possesses such love for us that He still watches over us as a nation, and as individuals.
“Let me experience your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in you. Reveal to me the way I should go because I appeal to you.” (Psalm 143:8)
Experiencing God in the morning, before we go about our day is wise. With a mind set on the Lord, we can go about the rest of the day with a godly perspective. When things hit the fan, God’s wisdom is there to guide us.
“But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because he has treated me generously.” (Psalm 13:5-6)
Placing our hope and trust in the Lord helps us encounter any obstacle in life with strength and endurance.
“For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.” (Psalm 86:5)
Sometimes we wonder that if God is omnipresent why would we ever need to call out to Him. He already knows our ordeals. However, the reason we call out to God is not to tell Him what he doesn’t know but rather conform ourselves to the image of Christ. Prayer is an invitation of God into our hearts. We learn to rely on Him more, and see Him more as He is and less of who we imagine Him to be.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22)
The Bible doesn’t put limits on the burdens we can bring to God. This is good news considering the troubles we find ourselves in as sinful people. Many of us have fallen in ways that we never expected. Others fall in specific ways consistently. Wherever we are in our spiritual lives, God wants to help.
“I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel.” (Psalm 32:8)
God delivers wisdom to those seeking instruction. One way to gain wisdom is through prayer, another is through reading His Word.
“Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
When life hits the fan, our perspective on things can grow rather bleak. Danger is seemingly everywhere and there is no peace to find. When life grows dark, God is with us. In those moments we need to especially remind ourselves of that fact.
He will never leave nor forsake us. When we believe this, we can find comfort.
“For your faithful love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.” (Psalm 57:10)
God’s steadfast love for us undeserving sinners is simply beyond human comprehension. We just need to remember this love when we think our lives and the world are spinning out of control.
“I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8)
Faith in the Lord prevents us from being shaken, no matter the weapon formed against us.
“My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life.” (Psalm 63:3)
Life goes dark when our perspective is centered on negativity. Life becomes brighter when we find reasons for gratitude. By adopting an attitude of thankfulness toward God and all of His blessings, we’ll realize more just how much love He has for us.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)
This is another reminder to express gratitude. Sometimes we think of happiness as being some faraway destination, but happiness is possible daily. No matter what the world looks like. No matter what the news says.
“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.” (Psalm 104:33)
Life is hitting the fan today. Eventually, life will hit the fan again, then again later. Despite this, we praise God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will accomplish. God’s kingdom endures forever and that is a great reason to hope no matter the season.
Conclusion
With the world going haywire as it is, there are many places we can put our hope. Money, drugs, relationships, work, even ourselves, but all these things are temporary and pass away. At best, they’re only sometimes reliable.
God’s Word, on the other hand, is always reliable.
The next time troubles occupy your mind, go to the place you know is always available. And not just available, but always helpful.
God wants to hear from us. He undoubtedly cares. We know this by the great book He gave us, as a guiding light through every season of life.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Doucefleur
