Peter Horrobin - Encouragement from the Psalms: A 40-Day Devotional Journey

Whenever I am in need of personal encouragement, I turn to the psalms. They are a treasure chest of truth that feeds the spirit, builds up the soul and gives one the courage to press on with the business of life. The word encouragement means giving someone support, confidence and hopeand that is exactly what the psalms do.

There is a profound reason why throughout the history of Gods people, for Jew and Gentile alike, reading (or singing!) the psalms has been a daily discipline wherever and whenever believers meet. The psalms provide the encouragement we all need, because they are founded on the reality of a personal walk with God, and they build faith.

The majority of the book of Psalms is written by Davidan amazing man of God who, as a boy, learned not only to worship the Lord as he cared for his sheep, but also to trust in the Lord whenever he had a need, whether that need was spiritual, emotional, relational or even physicalwhen wild animals would attack his flock. God was his anchor in life; He was everything to David.

David had learned that whatever the situation, God was sufficient for his need. Something that would stand him in very good stead in many of the experiences of his remarkable life.

It is this childlike, but utterly manly, quality that God must have pointed out to Samuel when he came to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as the next king of Israel. As Samuel looked at each of the first seven sons in turn, his assumption was that one of these fine young men must be the future king that God had chosen.

But God had a different idea and said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The L O R D does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the L O R D looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

It was only when Samuel asked if Jesse had any other sons that the young boy, David, was brought from the hills, where he had been tending the sheep, to stand before Samuel. Then the Lord said to Samuel, Rise and anoint him; he is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the L O R D came upon David in power (1 Samuel 16:1213).

So when you read the psalms of David, not only are you reading the praise, worship and spiritual experiences of a boy who became a man after Gods own heart, but you are reading the words of a man on whom the Spirit of the Lord rested. It is not surprising, therefore, that the psalms have been such a rich source of encouragement for Gods people for more than three thousand years.

They will never become outdated, because they are the vibrant account of a relationship with the living God who never changesHe is the same yesterday, today and forever! And all the other psalms, written by others from the same period of history, are also hallmarked by Gods inspiration and Spirit.

But the psalms are also hugely encouraging because they are not the worship songs of a man who never had any problems or who never made any mistakes. He pours out his heart to the Lord when his enemies attack or he is facing a day of trouble (see Psalm 27). And in spite of Davids godliness, the earthiness of his humanity is evident throughout, perhaps no more so than in Psalm 51 when he is broken before the Lord following his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. The psalms contain the essence of a mans relationship with God through all the ups and downs of lifethey are food for the soul and living water for the spirit. There is meat and drink here for every circumstance of life.

So as you use this book as a devotional of encouragement, I pray that the reality of Gods living presence will pervade your spirit and that you will learn to trust the Lord yet more in all the daily experiences of walking with God day by day. We live in a fallen world that is at enmity with the living God. But when we immerse ourselves in Gods Word, He will lift up our heads and enable us to say with David: The L O R D is my light and my salvationwhom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1).

How to Use This Book

This book is laid out as a forty-step journey of faith. It is designed to be read little by little, one day at a time. Before you begin to read each days Scripture and devotional reading, I encourage you to spend a few moments in prayerlay aside all the concerns of the moment and ask the Holy Spirit to open up Gods Word to you and to minister His truth into your inner being.

Then read the Scripture for the daynot once, but two or three times, allowing God to speak to you personally through the words from Scripture. Next, read the devotional with an open heart, asking God to show you how the things that are said can relate to events and circumstances in your own life. You may find it helpful to read the devotional through again.

At the end of each devotional is a suggested prayer that will help you anchor the daily truths into the reality of your own life. But I encourage you to pray more personally as well, applying whatever God has said to you through the devotional to your own situation.