44 Best Psalms for Strength in Difficult Times

By David •  Updated: 10/17/22 •  11 min read

Psalms for strength in difficult times keep you held on to God when the going is tough. Difficult times are part of the Christian life. Such times come into your life so that through them, God may receive Glory in giving you a breakthrough.

Jesus, replying to a question from one of His disciples on whether a man was blind because of his parent’s sins said; “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life,” John 9:3 (NIV).

The fact that you are going through hardship and tribulation does not mean that you are a sinner or that God has forsaken you. It is God’s plan for the glory of His name.

Below are 50 Psalms to keep you strengthened when you are going through difficult times.

Read and confess them for the Lord to strengthen you in your difficult situation.

Where Does Our Strength Come from in Hard Times?

David, in Psalms 121:1-2 (NIV), asked; I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. God, the Maker of the Universe is our present help in our times of need. He is the only source of our strength.

Our help and our strength come from Him. He urges us to say we are strong when we are weak in Joel 3:10 (NIV). God knows we cannot deliver ourselves from tribulation and affliction as situations may make us grow weary. By confessing, ‘I am strong,’ in hard times, His strength becomes our portion.

God also says in His word that His power and might are perfected in our weaknesses, 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV). This means that God is with us than ever before when we are going through difficult times.

His help, guidance, support, and strength is present in our times of need. All we need to do is to trust in the promises of His word and His power and strength will rest on us.

Psalms for Strength in Difficult Times.

Psalms for strength are a form of deep worship and adoration to the Lord. They are a form of humility and submission to God’s power and mighty strength.

When you confess or sing the psalms for strength in hard times, you acknowledge that you have no power over your situations, but God does. He controls your life and is at the same time the source of your strength.

1. Psalms 112:7-8 (NIV) 

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear.

2. Psalms 16:8-10 (NIV) 

I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

3. Psalms 91:1-2 (NIV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

4. Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV)

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation.

5. Psalms 34:4 (NIV)

I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

6. Psalms 145:18-19 (NIV)

The Lord is near to those who call Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

7. Psalms 27:1 (NIV) 

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?

8. Psalms 27:5 (NIV)

For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

9. Psalms 34:17 (NIV)

The righteous cry out and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.

10. Psalms 32:7-8 (NIV)

You are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Also See: Trust God in Difficult Times: 12 Reasons.

Psalms for Strength When You are Feeling Weak and in Tribulation.

The journey of Christianity is not only accompanied by jubilation, celebration, happiness and goodness, but also tribulation. Difficult moments in a believer’s life do not last forever.

They are only there for a short period of time and then God gets you through them. They may last for a night, a week or so but joy comes afterwards. The verses highlighted below will keep you going when you are feeling down.

11. Psalms 34:10 (NIV) 

The Lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

12. Psalms 9:9-10 (NIV) 

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

13. Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV) 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear , though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah.

14. Psalms 38:9-10 (NIV)

All my longings lie before you, Oh LORD; My sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.

15. Psalms 38:15 (NIV)

I wait for you, Oh LORD, you will answer me. O LORD my God.

16. Psalms 40:1-2 (NIV)

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud, and more; He set my feet on a firm rock, and gave my feet a firm place to stand.

17. Psalms 40:12-13 (NIV)

For troubles without number surround me, my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, Oh LORD, to save me; Oh LORD, come quickly to help me.

18. Psalms 25:17:20 (NIV)

The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me. Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

19. Psalms 22:11 (NIV) 

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

20. Psalms 22:19 (NIV)

But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my strength, come quickly to help me.

Psalms for Strength in Difficult Times

Photo by Alexey Demidov on pexels.com

Psalms to Encourage You in Hard Times.

David the Psalmist is a great example of an over comer in the Bible. His early years were filled with trouble, difficulty and hardship. He went through a lot of hard times as a teen and even as a king.

However, he overcame all that. David sung psalms for strength to the Lord, and God came through for him. In your difficult times, think of David and the mercies of God upon mankind. Recite and sing the psalms for protection. You will be encouraged to soldier on in God’s strength.

21. Psalms 41:1 (NIV) 

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.

22. Psalms 41:12 (NIV)

In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

23. Psalms 23:4 (NIV)

Been though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

24. Psalms 42:5-6 (NIV) 

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan–the heights of Hermon from Mount Mizar.

25. Psalms 42:9 (NIV)

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

26. Psalms 43:3 (NIV) 

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

27. Psalms 55:22 (NIV)

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

28. Psalms 56:8 (NIV)

Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll–are they not in your record?

29. Psalms 57:1 (NIV)

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings, until the disaster has passed.

30. Psalms 59:9-10 (NIV) 

O my strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me.

31. Psalms 59:16 (NIV) 

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times in times of trouble.

32. Psalms 23:1-3 (NIV) 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.

33. Psalms 27:9-10 (NIV)

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

Psalms to Give You Hope in Hard Times.

David always ran to God whenever things turned out tough for him. He always sought the mercies, grace and strength of God through psalms. With some situations, you can only ask for God’s grace and strength to overcome.

If you sing the psalms as David did in his hard times, God’s grace will be sufficient in your situation. You can have hope for a better tomorrow by reading and singing the psalms below.

34. Psalms 25:1-2 (NIV)

To you, O LORD, I lift my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

35. Psalms 25:15-16 (NIV)

My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

36. Psalms 37:4 (NIV) 

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

37. Psalms 37:23-25 (NIV)

If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His right hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

38. Psalms 46:10 (NIV)

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

39. Psalms 119:165-166 (NIV)

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.

40. Psalms 4:3 (NIV) 

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him.

41. Psalms 5:12 (NIV) 

For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

42. Psalms 6:9 (NIV) 

The LORD has had heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

43. Psalms 7:10 (NIV)

My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.

44. Psalms 20:4 (NIV)

May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

In Conclusion

Psalms for strength in difficult times should overflow from your lips. This is because tribulation is inevitable.

To overcome, you need to find strength in the Lord by confessing the psalms for strength over your situation.

There is unimaginable power in confession. Confess the above psalms and receive your strength in Jesus’ name!

David

Is an Ordained Minister and Life Coach. He is an ordained minister since 1988. Shortly after receiving Jesus as his personal savior, he answered the call to ministry.

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