Seeking God in PSALMS

“They came round me daily like water; the compassed me about together.” PSALMS 88:17

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round the time I received Jesus as my Lord and savior, I travelled to Chicago on a business trip and I met a fellow Christian whose life story was like a modern version of the book of Job. The first things I noticed about him were his calm demeanor, and his million-dollar smile. When he heard that I had just began my walk with Christ, he did what all of us should be doing on a daily basis: he planted a seed. He gave me a method of beginner’s Bible study that proved enormously valuable. He wrote on a napkin, “Read Psalms at night, Proverbs in the morning, and study the book of John.” This simple yet profound instruction sustained me while I was an infant in our faith...and it continues today. God restored my peace through the book of Psalms countless times, even returned to me the joy of thanksgiving.

Psalms guide us in praise and prayer. When the floods seem to overtake you, when the night has forbidden your sleep and worry is all you seem to muster, when your enemies circle around you like lions ready to devour you, open the book of Psalms. The Word becomes your own words in this blessed book, as if the Lord was telling you, “I know. I am listening. I am with you.” Psalms show you He understands our humanity, our struggles are not new to Him, and what it means to be a man like David, after God’s heart. The Lord is not glorified when we struggle. His word in the book of Psalms illuminates the path to follow, that we may bring splendor to His name.