When Hope Feels Lost: 5 Powerful Psalms to Anchor Your Soul

1. Psalm 13: When You’re Tired of Faking Faith
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (v.1)
I memorized this Psalm during chemo. My church friends kept saying, “Just claim healing!” But I wanted to scream: “I’m bald, nauseous, and God feels MIA.” Then I noticed something: David doesn’t sanitize his pain. He accuses God of forgetting him (v.1), lets his enemies gloat (v.2), and basically says, “Fix this or I’ll die!” (v.3).
My raw prayer:
“God, I’m pissed. My body’s failing, my friends vanished, and my kid thinks ‘chemo’ is a bad word. But verse 5 says You’ll rescue me. I don’t feel it, but I’ll borrow David’s hope until mine shows up.”
Try this:
- Write your own version of Psalm 13. Mine included:
“How long will my bank account scream ‘insufficient funds’?
How long will my ex’s lies poison our daughter?
BUT I trust Your love… even when it tastes like hospital Jell-O.” - Scream-sing it (I belt it in the shower—the acoustics bless my rage).