Living the Psalms

I spent the last few weeks working my way through Charles Swindoll's devotional Living the Psalms and found my time in this book relaxing and uplifting. This work takes an in-depth look at selected chapters of the Old Testament book of Psalms to help us to know God better and to provide encouragement for our daily living. The 26 different Psalms that were selected from the 150 in the book of Psalms were chosen specifically to cover a broad array of different areas of our lives where we might struggle. From discouragement, to uncertainty, to fear, to aimlessness, to arrogance, to depression, each Psalm was broken down into five separate readings that served to provide context into the meaning of the words and to make their message applicable for us today.

Swindoll's deft touch was apparent as he provided encouragement, comfort, and wisdom to face the problems that we all do in life, but also to help us to see and appreciate God's presence in our lives through it all. This theme of providing encouragement for the daily grind is one that is a hallmark of many of his works. He is most certainly gifted in this area. Each evening I found myself looking forward to sitting down to work my way through several of the readings and found that more often than not, the troubles of my day melted away and I was able to find some peace. In a companion book to this one, Living the Proverbs, Swindoll approaches the Old Testament book of Proverbs for further encouragement from the daily grind. I will add that to my reading list and dive in soon.