Some days you just need a reminder that there is good in the world and God is still in it.
Not a theological treatise. Not a complicated answer. Just a word that cuts through the noise and says: You are not forgotten. You are loved. There is hope. A word that lifts something in your chest and makes you feel, at least for a moment, like you can keep going.
The Psalms for encouragement are those words. They have been lifting people for thousands of years — in prison cells, on battlefields, in grief, in exile, in the ordinary hard days of just being human. They are not trite. They are tested.
Let’s make an important distinction, because it matters.
Toxic positivity tells you everything is fine when it isn’t. Encouragement tells you that the God who sees your hard thing is bigger than your hard thing — and that you are not in it alone.
The Psalms are not cheerful. Many of them begin in lament. But they move — often slowly, often wrestled — toward a place of trust and hope and even praise. That movement is what encouragement looks like when it’s real.
It doesn’t erase difficulty. It reorients you in the middle of it.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”
There’s a reason Psalm 23 is the first Scripture memorized and the last one prayed at deathbeds. It is the most comprehensive encouragement in the Bible — provision, rest, refreshment, presence, protection, abundance. All in six verses.
If you haven’t read Psalm 23 recently, read it today. All of it. Slowly.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
This verse doesn’t ask you to believe a proposition. It invites you to taste — to experience God’s goodness for yourself. Not secondhand. Not theoretical. The encouragement here is personal: come and see.
If faith feels dry right now, this is a verse to pray as an invitation. God, let me taste this. Let me see it today.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
“Ever-present” means right here, right now, not eventually. Whatever trouble you’re navigating, you are not navigating it alone. God is already in the middle of it with you.
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”
“Forget not” is more of an instruction than a reminder. The tendency — especially in hard seasons — is to forget what God has already done and focus on what hasn’t happened yet. Psalm 103 pulls you back: remember. Look at the list. Count the benefits.
Forgiveness. Healing. Redemption. Being crowned with love and compassion. These are not small things.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”
One of the deepest human needs is to be truly known — not the version of yourself you show publicly, but the real thing. Psalm 139 says: God knows all of it. The thoughts. The movements. The private interior. And he is not repelled by it.
You are known. Fully, completely known. And still loved.
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
Sometimes encouragement doesn’t need to be long. This one is short enough to carry in your pocket. It has a reason built into it: you who hope in the Lord. That is the basis of the strength. Not your own capability — your orientation toward God.
“The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”
This verse is for the person who is bowed down — overwhelmed, crushed, unable to stand. And it’s a promise: God lifts them. Not eventually, not if they do the right things first. He lifts all who are bowed down.
If someone in your life is in this place right now, this is a verse worth writing out and sending to them.
“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Simple. Complete. The source of help is identified — not circumstances, not other people, not your own resources. The Maker of heaven and earth. The one who has authority over everything you’re facing.
Take a moment to read more about the full meaning of Psalm 121 — it’s one of the richest encouragement passages in all of Scripture.
Here’s one of the most powerful things about the Psalms: they were never meant to be received quietly and kept.
David wrote Psalms that were sung in community — in the temple, at festivals, on pilgrimage. The words were shared. The encouragement passed from person to person, generation to generation, all the way to you.
You are the recipient of someone else’s encouragement. And there is someone in your life right now — maybe struggling quietly, maybe not saying much — who needs to receive what you’ve been given.
This is the heart of the devotional workbook we created: the idea that the most healing thing you can do, for yourself and for someone else, is to reach outward with a word of encouragement. Not a tweet, not a quick text — a handwritten note. Something physical. Something held.
If you’re looking for a tangible way to do that, our devotional workbook was made for this. 193 pages of faith-based encouragement with perforated tear-out pages, ready to be given to someone who needs them. $14.99 with free shipping.
The Psalms kept moving for three thousand years. Let them keep moving through you.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Dwayne Jeffries is a publisher, entrepreneur, and legacy-builder who has dedicated his life to encouraging and equipping others.
As the son of the author of Handcrafted Encouragement, he carries forward the family’s vision—expanding it from a devotional into a living movement that inspires hope, faith, and resilience in everyday life.
For more than two decades, Dwayne has equipped Fortune 500 brands, entrepreneurs, and families to thrive through the shifting tides of business and life.
Known for his intuitive wisdom, strategic foresight, and empathetic leadership, he bridges the gap between timeless spiritual truth and modern challenges with clarity and heart.
At the core of his work is a conviction: true wealth is measured by the lives we impact, the faith we embody, and the legacy we leave behind.
Handcrafted Encouragement is a faith-based devotional designed to bring comfort, hope, and healing through handwritten notes. Rooted in Scripture and empathy, each page encourages you to reflect, connect, and uplift others—one note at a time.
