When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
– Psalm 94:19
Is that not a great verse? That is a verse worth memorizing, hiding in your heart, especially for hard, dark days.
Psalm 94:19 Portrays the Psalmist Acknowledging God as His Source of Hope
“When the cares of my heart are many.” How often is that true in our lives? Just so many different cares on our heart, concerns on our heart. Our hearts are burdened by many things. I would just confess that describes my life right now, and I’m guessing I’m not alone, that there are many of us for whom we have many cares on our hearts, many things that are heavy on our hearts and our minds. So when the cares of my heart are many, your consolation cheer my soul. What a picture of a soul being cheered. Oh, don’t you want that when the cares of your heart are mini?
Don’t you want your soul to be cheered, to be lifted up, to be encouraged, to be warmed? So how is that possible? How can our souls be cheered when the cares of our heart are many? It’s possible by the consolation of God, the words of God, the comforting words of God, cheer our soul. Just think about the comforting words of God and how they cheer our souls when the cares of our heart are many God’s comforting words. I am with you.
I just wanna speak these words over, especially anyone walking right now through difficulties. Challenges where the cares of your heart are many God’s consolation, God’s comforting words that he speaks over you. He says, I am with you. I’ll never leave you or forsake you. Not only is he with you, he’s in you. He has put the comforter, his Holy Spirit inside of you.
He says to you, fear not. I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called you by name. God has called you by name and you are his. When you pass the waters, God says, I will be with you when you pass the rivers. God says they will not sweep over you when you walk through the fire. You will not be burned because he is the Lord your God and you. He says this about his people. You are precious and honored in my sight and I love you. That’s consolation from God.
Psalm 94:19 Reminds Us of the Uplifting Power of the Promises of God
Romans 8. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. You are not a slave to fear cuz you have the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba. Father, this spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children and if we are children, we are heirs, heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ.
If indeed for now we may share in his sufferings one day we will share in his glory if God is for us, who can be against us. He didn’t spare his own son, but gave him up will He not also alone with him graciously give you all things, nothing either death nor life. Either angels nor demons nor the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will separate you ever from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus. You are more than a conquer through him who loved you. Oh, I’m just getting started.
These are just a few of the consolation and the Bibles full of them. Consolation from God to cheer our souls. When the cares of our hearts are many. Oh God, we praise you for your consolation. We love your consolation. We love your comforting words to us, your promises to us, your love for us expressed in the way you speak to us, when the cares of our heart are many, and even the promise that we can cast all of our cares upon you and you care for us.
Oh God, we praise you for your loving, comforting, encouraging, put courage into us. Joy giving consolation that sheer our soul. So God help us, especially when the cares of our heart are many to reflect often on your consolation, to remember your consolation, to recall them to our minds and to live in light of them.
Praying for the Thae People
And oh God, we pray for people who don’t know these consolation in Jesus who’ve never even heard of them, the Thae people of Laos, 11,000, the small remote tribe in Laos that has no knowledge of the gospel. No Christians, no Bible in their language, in the O language. God, we pray for the spread of your consolation in Jesus to the Thae people of Laos. Please, oh God, we pray for them that their, that their souls might be eternally cheered by your consolation in the gospel. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel to the Thae people of Laos as we praise you for the way your consolations cheer our souls. We pray all of this according to your word in Psalm 94 verse 19. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
