Grief, depression, debilitating illness, dark despair—when you are in a time of near-hopelessness, sometimes even reading the Bible can be difficult. The violence of the Old Testament might seem too jarring, and the promises of heaven too far off to speak to your soul.

But one particular book of the Bible contains much comfort and hope when you find yourself in a season of sadness: the Psalms.

Essentially, the Psalms comprise a book of deep, heart-wrenching poetry within the Bible that get to the core of the human experience: emotion. A collection of 150 ancient Hebrew songs and prayers, many of the psalms were meant to be set to music. King David wrote a great number of them, and other authors are Asaph, the Sons of Korah, David’s son Solomon, and more.

The Psalms are considered one of the more popular books in the Bible, and this is probably for a number of reasons. First, the individual psalms are relatively short, so they can be a bit easier to absorb and perhaps memorize, particularly when you are in a period of struggle. Second, they are people’s direct, intimate encounters with the Lord, filled with emotional highs and lows. Some are psalms of praise, while others are mournful lamentations that voice the kind of sentiment some of us can only moan in our misery.

When we are experiencing a time of pain, the last thing we want is platitudes, no matter how well-meaning. There is something about the Psalms that brings camaraderie and kinship—as you read, you know: the author felt what you felt. He made it through the dark night, and now he is there beside you with words that speak directly to your own anguish.  

Here is a collection of some of the more comforting verses from the first 25 psalms and their key reminders. They have comforted me in my own times of heartache. I pray they also comfort you in yours.

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Many Christians have heard these words but don’t understand their full meaning or context. What does it mean that the Kingdom of Heaven is near? Quite simply, John was telling God’s people the Messiah was coming, warning them they must return to right relationship with their Creator so they can be among those ushered into God’s kingdom.   

It’s important to know that God’s plan is not for humans to live separated from Him by sin forever. He gave us temporary bodies on purpose, knowing that if we chose the true path—His Son, Jesus—we would be blessed with eternal life in heaven, where tears, sadness, and pain do not exist. Bad things do happen, but God uses them for His good purpose.

So many people feel alone, unimportant, and irrelevant. Maybe they have lost loved ones, or gone through a time of pain. Maybe they feel stuck in a dead-end job or are facing a difficult medical diagnosis. Maybe they struggle with the weight of mental illness or addiction—or sin. A smile tears past all that directly into the heart of another person. A smile says “I see you. You are not anonymous. You are not part of the background or scenery. You are a fellow human in this journey of life with me, and you matter.”

Six years ago, shortly after we got married, my husband and I started tithing. We weren’t brimming with extra money at the time, but I’d been reading the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As I read, I kept feeling God nudge me to do as the Israelites had been commanded: Give ten percent of my income to the Lord.

Ten percent felt like a lot, especially as our new marriage meant we now had a blended family of four children in the house. Instead of slipping a twenty-dollar bill in the collection plate as I did before, tithing meant we needed to intentionally calculate ten percent of our income in our monthly household budget, and pay it to the church or a ministry as if it were an actual bill.

Also, I thought my husband would balk at the idea. But he didn’t. In fact, and much to my surprise, he agreed readily.

We haven’t stopped tithing since and never intend to.

Here’s what we’ve learned about tithing and how it can be a powerful act of love toward the Lord.

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After a really rough season, many of us have the overwhelming need for a fresh start. Our minds fill with all sorts of symbolism to go along with this—a clean page in a notebook. Freshly sharpened pencils. The next chapter in a book.

Yet in spite of our desire for a restart, sometimes we don’t know where to begin. Reality can set in quickly. The memories and pain of past attempts or past hurts come flooding back, and we often find ourselves saddled with baggage that’s incredibly hard to shed.

Whether you are newly single or widowed, starting a different job or school, or embarking on a weight-loss or fitness program, there are a number of tips rooted in Scripture that can make our journey easier.

Here are some:

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The Bible paints a beautiful picture of creation, artfully and painstakingly handcrafted by God. In Genesis, we’re told how God made the heavens and the earth, formed man from the dust of the earth, and placed this precious, living creature in the Garden of Eden. God planted this garden in the east and filled it with magnificent trees and a massive, life-sustaining river, and intended for the man He’d formed to work the garden and care for it.

All of this was good—very good—all but one thing.

The man was alone.

Genesis 2:18 tells us, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

Why does God say it is not good for man to be alone in Genesis 2:18? No one can know the mind of the Lord, but a deeper look at context, God’s words, and God’s actions indicate a few things, from our inherent need for fellowship to the perfect balance achieved in the differences between two people coming together in the Lord as one flesh.

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Too often we crave the false security that having stuff provides. Worldly items are just that, items of this world. They rust and crumble and eventually are gone. They do not matter in the big picture. They are merely things. And the Bible warns us repeatedly not to keep our focus on worldly things. 

Validation doesn’t mean you agree with them or even would feel the same way if you were in their situation. It doesn’t mean you’re saying their feelings are godly or permissible. Rather, it means you see they do have these feelings, you recognize their feelings are worthy, and you seek to understand why they feel this way.

What does the Bible say about respecting our elders, and why is this important today? The good news is the Bible says plenty about the importance of respecting our elders.

In both accounts, Jesus fasts, which means he voluntarily reduced or eliminate his intake of food. The devil tempts Jesus during this time, attempting to take advantage of Jesus’s weakened state. He tells Jesus to turn a stone into bread, to throw himself off the cliff (to demonstrate how the angels would save him), and to worship him (the devil) in exchange for the splendor of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus counters each of the temptations with the Word of God.

The apostle Paul’s letters can seem to exude confidence, as they are written with authority and well-meaning advice. Often, Paul wrote about finding joy and clinging to faith even in difficult times, and his verses rank high on many people’s lists of favorite scriptures.

But a number of people don’t know the same man who wrote so passionately about faith penned many of his letters from prison. Paul was once an enemy of Christians (Acts 8:3). Then he had a transformational experience and became instrumental in spreading the Good News about Christ to non-Jews throughout Greece, Rome, and beyond (Acts 9:15, Acts 21:27-28). Many don’t understand he endured great hardship in his life and was arrested, shipwrecked, stoned, tortured, and ultimately executed for his beliefs.

Paul’s words on suffering, having been written by someone who knew suffering intimately, carry much weight. And his deeper points about perseverance in faith weigh even more given this.

Here are five ways Paul’s struggles can help us understand the importance of perseverance in faith.

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The clamor of a me-focused culture can be overwhelming for many Christians, who try so hard to tune out the noise and focus on what God holds dear. But sometimes, culture’s lies can sneak in and confuse us. Part of this is because they make sense to the logical sides of our brain, or they are woven tightly into our upbringing or work-oriented mentality. And, in truth, they often don’t seem so bad.

But each one of them is a lie, for they run counter to God’s instructions and promises for us.

Here, we explore five lies of culture and how to counter them with Scripture.

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