Psalm 94:19: “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
The dictionary definition for the word consolation: Noun. The act of consoling. Comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment. Synonyms: Comfort, solace, sympathy, compassion, pity, commiseration, empathy.
We all need to be comforted from time to time. We just need someone to listen to us and preferably over a cup of coffee or tea. Don’t be quick to tell us what to do, but listen to what is aching our heart. Advice is not always wanted, but a good listener is what is needed first in being compassionate.
We that are mothers get to have the role of compassion with our children. Women are nurturers. That is our bent. That is our nature in life. I still need my mother to talk to for those times when I am deeply bothered, or my daughter, or with a close girlfriend. We women bond in this way with one another. We have girl-talk.
Job’s three friends missed the mark in giving consolation. They listened at first. They spent time with him and just sat with Job, wept, and were there alone with him for seven days, not saying anything (Job 2:11-13). However, afterward they misjudged Job. Job answered these men with: “. . . miserable comforters are you all (Job 16:1).” Job further states their long winded speeches did not give him the empathy that he needed (Job 16:2-3). He confronts them in Job 21:34: “How long will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.” Their human empathy was lacking in the end.
The book of Psalms is the book in the Bible that I go to for comfort. Friends and family are needed and so appreciated, but the Holy Spirit is the true and genuine comforter. God is always ready to listen. He will never put you on hold or tell me: “You already told me that.”
Here are ten verses from the book of Psalms that have given me comfort at needed times:
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- Psalm 94:18: “When I thought “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.” God is my stronghold when I feel like I have blown it.
- Psalm 3:3-4: “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.” Yes, God takes my chin in his big hands and tells me to look up at Him instead of looking at my circumstances.
- Psalm 23:3: “He restores my soul.” Feel like you can’t breathe due to stress? This is my specific CPR verse!
- Psalm 27:1-2: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” When I feel intimidated by someone else I try to remember this verse.
- Psalm 27:13: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” This was the verse God pointed out to me, when we were in the decision process of moving from Minnesota to California in 1991. The “land of the living” was and is California.
- Psalm 103:13-14: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame, he remembers we are dust.” Yes, men can show warm comfort to their children. God comforts me with His presence as He holds my right hand (Psalm 73:23-24).
- Psalm 107:9: “For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” Only God can fill one’s heart and replace feelings of overwhelming emotions with His presence. That is the right time to be stubborn. Fight for righteousness. We all have a target on our back with Satan’s arrows being shot right into its bulls eye. Pull them out one by one by reciting God’s Word in your defense.
- Psalm 119:92-93: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.” This has become what I call my signature verse. My prayer then became, “Teach me Your Word during this season of my life like I have never known it before and make this verse my testimony when I emerge from this place.”
- Psalm 56:3-4: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.” We all are fearful at times. But God gave David courage to fight the giant Goliath; He will do the same for us – we just have to ask for courage, release our fears and anxieties in prayer, and hold onto our hope. God is faithful to His promises.
- Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Sometimes I need to stop fretting and just “be still.” God will always have the final victory. Give Him praise! Bravo! Bravo!
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Oh, there are so many other verses throughout the Psalms that leap out at me from the pages of my Bible, when wisdom or comfort is needed within my heart.
It states in Acts 4:36, that Barnabas’s name meant, “son of encouragement.” The KJV uses the words: “son of consolation.” Barnabas was a great example of how to minister to new Christians. He spent time teaching and encouraging them. He was a man who was able to give empathy and commiseration to others young in their faith.
“If I were your enemy, I’d disguise myself and manipulate your perspectives so that you’d focus on the wrong culprit—your husband, your friend, your hurt, your finances, anything or anyone except me. Because when you zero in on the most convenient, obvious places to strike back against your problems, you get the impression you’re fighting for something. Even though all you’re really doing is just . . . fighting. For nothing.” ― Priscilla Shirer, Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan to Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer
While we are living on this earth, we will have trials. We will have conflicts. We will need to be comforted. However the source of our battles needs to be examined. That argument you had with your husband, your boss, your fellow employees, your children – they are not the real enemy. Satan is trying to break your fellowship with God and to cripple you with discouragement and shame (Revelation 12:10).
“Bottom line: Anticipate the enemy to hit you in the area of your greatest influence . . . Consider where you’re feeling the strongest these days. And expect to take some hits at those particular areas.” Priscilla Shirer, The Armor of God.
Read and reread a verse that gives hope, encouragement, increases your faith, and restores your soul, throughout the day and again before you go to sleep at night. Be aware of the source of the real battle you have been engaged in, and fight back with the sword of power found in the scriptures in your Bible (Ephesians 6:10-19).
Do you have a burden that keeps you awake at night?
Is it hard to concentrate on your work due to a heaviness that you are carrying?
Or maybe you are in-between coming out of a trial and going into your next trial. Ask God to increase your faith. Ask God to take control over your heart and mind. Be still.
Who can you give a gift of encouragement or comfort to as God has given His divine consolation to you? That would be a gift that does not cost any money, but would be cherished greatly.
May our prayer be: “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:19 NIV.
Listen to Mercy Me’s Song “Even If.”