When Hope Feels Lost: 5 Powerful Psalms to Anchor Your Soul
How to Actually Use These Psalms (From a Hot Mess Who’s Still Learning)
- Scream them: Literally. My car knows Psalms 13-42 by heart.
- Text them: When a friend’s drowning, skip the platitudes. Send v.1-2 of Psalm 69 with “I’m in the pit with you.”
- Doodle them: I scribble verses on dollar-store mirrors. My fave: Psalm 147:3 over my acne scars.
- Date them: Write the Psalm and why you needed it. My Psalm 22 entry: “3/14/23—Divorce papers served. God still MIA. But David kept writing…”
When Hope Feels Like a Foreign Language
Last week, my 8-year-old found me crying over Psalm 42. She patted my back and said, “Mama, deer need water. You need chocolate.” Then she brought me a melted Hershey’s kiss from her pocket.
That’s the thing about hopelessness—it’s never the end of the story. These Psalms don’t promise quick fixes. But they do promise a God who collects tears (Psalm 56:8), even when they’re mixed with snot and Hershey’s residue.
So grab your messiest journal. Turn Psalm 13 into a breakup song. Yell Psalm 69 at your steering wheel. Let your hope be loud, ugly, and real. After all, David—adulterer, warrior, worship leader—didn’t write polished prayers. He wrote survival anthems.
