Psalms: Living Authentically

Four powerful lessons from the book of Psalms about what it means to live authentically

For a significant seasons of my life (about a year and a half), I read and reread the book of Psalms. I’d start with Psalm 1 and work my way through the entire book, sometimes focusing on a whole chapter, sometimes focusing only on one or two verses. When I finished the book, I’d start it over again. I used different versions and approaches, but I kept coming back to Psalms day after day.

Some days, reading Psalms was like drinking water after a long walk in the hottest part of summer. Other days, it felt a little more like checking something off a list. Sometimes, I cried as I read. Sometimes, I journaled the verses back to God as a prayer. It was a season of deep investment in my relationship with God and incredible authenticity with my Creator.

To be authentic is to be honest, straightforward, real. And if you’ve read Psalms much, you know that these poems and songs are honest, straightforward and real. No matter who the author is, Psalms has some important things to teach us about ourselves and our God.

The book of Psalms teaches us where to go with our emotions.

Where did the Psalmist go when he felt happy? To the Lord. When he was sad, lonesome or sorrowful? To the Creator. When he was angry and wanted revenge? To God. Psalms are a powerful example of authenticity for believers because they show us that no matter how we’re feeling, the correct place to take our emotions is to the Lord. We may need to talk with a counselor or seek the wise counsel of godly friends and family, but God is the first person we need to go with our emotions.

Psalms teaches us that God can handle our emotions.

Somewhere along the way, I internalized a message that it was wrong to be upset or angry, maybe even sinful. And while the actions and choices we make because of those emotions can definitely lead to sin, those feelings aren’t necessarily sinful in and of themselves. One of the more freeing things I’ve recognized as an adult was that your emotions are your emotions. It’s OK to feel the way you feel—you just can’t let feelings and emotions run your life. Part of being authentic with ourselves is being able to acknowledge and identify our emotions in a particular moment, situation or season. Part of being authentic with God is taking those emotions to him and recognizing that he can handle them.

Ever been angry about a situation in your life, but sugarcoated your prayers about it, trying to lie to yourself and God about the way you really felt? The psalmist didn’t do that. Read Psalm 55. Been afraid? Look at Psalm 56 or Psalm 3. Feel anxious, tired, overwhelmed by your own sinfulness? Again and again, the writers of Psalms poured out their hearts to God, and God was not angry at them for doing so. When we come to God honestly and express our emotions, fears and worries to him, we are coming to him in faith and actively seeking to place our hope in him.

The book of Psalms refocuses our hearts and minds on God and his character.

Once in a season of sadness, I found myself reading and rereading Psalm 42. “Why, my soul, are you so dejected?” the psalmist wrote. “Why are you in such turmoil?” It was the way I felt at the time, but one day, verse 6 came to life for me: “I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar” (CSB). “When you feel like this,” the Lord seemed to be impressing on my heart, “remember who I am and what I have done in your life.” Even now, years later, when I find myself in a moment or season of despair, I begin making lists of how I have seen God work in my life and in the lives of those around me. That seemingly simple act will help anchor your soul and bring your focus back to God when you are lost in a sea of emotions.

Psalms gives us words to pray when we can’t form them ourselves.

Sorrow, grief, joy—there are moments and seasons in our lives where it can be hard to put how we’re feeling into words. The good news is that there’s probably a psalm for that! Thankful? Pray Psalm 34:1-8. Overwhelmed by sin? Psalm 51. In need of comfort? Read Psalm 23. Worried, anxious or need to refocus on who God is and what he has done? Pray Psalm 103.

However you’re feeling today, it’s our prayer that this fall would be a time of incredible authenticity with God, with your families and your friends. We hope these timely lessons from the book of Psalms help you to be honest with yourself and with the Lord!