A Psalm Before I Rise

Today, I choose to speak to my own soul before I speak to the world.

Not because life has suddenly become easy. Not because every prayer has already been answered. Not because every battle has ended. But because the Psalms have taught me something beautiful: faith is not pretending the storm is gone. Faith is remembering who God is while the storm is still raging.

So this is my creed.

This is my prayer.

This is my song for such a time as this.

Lord, I will bless You at all times. Your praise will continually be on my lips, even when my heart feels weary and my hands feel empty. I will not wait for perfect circumstances before I worship You, because Your goodness has never depended on mine. (Psalm 34:1)

When fear finds me, I will not make it my home. I will seek You, and You will answer me. You have never promised a life without trouble, but You have promised that the righteous cry out and You hear them. You deliver them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:4,17)

I will not believe the lie that I have been forgotten.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing. He leads me beside quiet waters, restores my soul, and walks with me through the darkest valleys. Even there, His presence is louder than my fear. (Psalm 23:1–4)

I choose to remember this: God is faithful.

He is not faithful because I feel Him. He is faithful because it is His nature. From generation to generation, His love endures. His faithfulness reaches to the skies. (Psalm 36:5; Psalm 100:5)

So I will wait.

Not with folded arms, but with hopeful expectation.

I will wait for the Lord. I will be strong and take heart, because every season of waiting is held by the hands of a faithful God. (Psalm 27:14)

When anxiety whispers, I will answer with truth.

God is my refuge and my strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear, though the earth gives way beneath my feet. (Psalm 46:1–2)

When I feel too weak to keep going, I will remember that my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The One who never slumbers is watching over my life. (Psalm 121:1–8)

Today I choose joy, not because everything is right, but because the Lord is.

Today I choose peace, not because I understand the road, but because He directs my steps.

Today I choose hope, because His steadfast love has never failed me once.

And if my soul grows quiet, I will preach to it the way David did:

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

So this is my declaration.

I am held.

I am seen.

I am restored.

I am not abandoned.

The Lord is just. The Lord is faithful. The Lord will finish what He began.

For such a time as this, I will not be shaken.

Amen.

V.L