Palms: Lesson 7
Overview
The Psalms and Our Emotions: Anger, Fear, and Stress
God created us to feel. Emotions are not flaws to suppress but part of how He designed us, and Scripture never asks us to pretend we don't have them. What Scripture does is give us a place to bring them. The Psalms—prayers and songs for every season of life—meet us in our anger, fear, and stress and gently turn our perspective back to the Lord. We are not meant to walk this side of heaven alone; first and foremost, we have a God who walks with us, and through His Word He shapes our hearts to align with His will.
Anger that comes from envy or a sense of injustice. Psalm 37:1–11 opens with a striking command: "Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers." If we are honest, much of our anger is rooted in envy—we are upset that others seem to "get away" with what we know is wrong—or in a demand for justice on our own terms. The psalm reorients us: trust in the Lord, commit your way to Him, be still before Him, refrain from anger. This echoes Paul's struggle in Romans 7:15, where the saint and sinner clash within us. Psalm 11 does similar work: even when "the foundations are destroyed," the Lord is still on His throne, and His justice—not ours—will prevail. Our justice would punish the driver who cuts us off and pardon us when we run the red light. God's justice is good, righteous, and for our benefit.
Fear that whispers we are alone. Fear takes many forms—fear of flying, fear of heights, fear of a diagnosis, fear for a loved one's choices. In Psalm 56, David, hunted by Saul and seized by the Philistines, does not pretend bravery. He prays, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." It is not wrong to feel fear; it is part of being human. What David models is honesty paired with confidence: he names his fear and then turns to the God whose Word he praises. Because Christ has died for us, our sins are forgiven, and our eternity is secure—so we can pray for healing, confess our fear, and ask the Lord to fill us with comfort, even when "I trust in You" is all we can manage.
Stress that keeps us racing and awake. Stress, in measure, is a gift that propels us into action—but the enemy can twist it into a relentless interrogation about yesterday's failures and tomorrow's demands. Psalm 46:10 gives us a place to land: "Be still, and know that I am God." Breathe in. Breathe out. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Stop in traffic, in the hallway, in the middle of the night, and pray those words. Clarity follows stillness because we remember we are not carrying any of it alone.
A pastoral word. Anger, fear, anxiety, envy, and stress are tightly braided together, and one easily becomes the next. That is precisely why God's Word is not a one-time prescription but an ongoing means of grace. The more often we return to it, the more it transforms our hearts and reshapes our perspective. If you have not yet felt that change, take heart—our faith does not rest on experience but on Christ. He has redeemed you, counted you righteous, and called you His own. Open the Psalms in your fear, your anger, your stress—and find that the Author Himself is there to meet you.
Transcript
Thank you for your love, thank you for your grace, thank you for your mercy, and thank 4s
you for calling us together as your own children together. 9s
Lord, we ask that you would use this day, this time together, to grow us in faith, to 13s
grow us in maturing in our faith, and to get to know you better. 19s
Lord, we thank you that we have you to turn to always as we study today. 23s
Let us turn to you and open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to what you would have us 29s
know and where you would have us go. 35s
Lord, we lift this all to you in the name of Jesus Christ. 37s
Amen. 41s
Okay, today we get to talk about emotions. 42s
Woo! 44s
Because I know, I know that we all love talking about emotions. 46s
Actually, it's kind of funny that women, we have our retreats and we have these times 52s
where we get together and we want to share and talk, and all the men, I don't think you 58s
have those sort of retreats and times to just gather and share how you feel. 64s
So today we are going to talk about emotions, and really basically I want to start by saying 70s
we all have them, right? 75s
We all have emotions, we all have feelings, whether we like to admit it or not, whether 76s
we like to share them or not, we are created to feel. 82s
We're created to feel, and quite honestly, we're not created to go through those emotions 88s
alone. 95s
We're not called to be loners this side of heaven. 96s
Pastor Ibel a couple of years ago did a beautiful sermon that we are not an island. 101s
So, if you have the opportunity to look that up and I wish I knew the date but I don't, 106s
but it was a really beautiful sermon. 111s
And so, what we're going to talk about today is how we're not alone and our baseline for 114s
this is that first and foremost, we're not alone because we have the Lord, and it is 120s
the Lord who goes with us at all times. 125s
We are going to take a couple of weeks talking about different emotions today, we're just 128s
going to get to the fun stuff next week. 135s
So, we're going to go ahead and we're going to talk about fear, we're going to talk about 137s
anxiety, we're going to talk about stress, we're going to talk about anger, because who 142s
doesn't love to come to church on a Sunday morning and talk about all the emotions. 147s
But taking it into the context of the Psalms, we've talked about how the Psalms really 153s
are those songs and prayers that we can lift to the Lord and that they are for every season 160s
of life. 167s
Any season that you're going through and any emotion that you're experiencing, really, 169s
it's covered in the Psalms and we have God's own Word to speak to us. 176s
We all have our favorite verses in times of distress or in times of joy, right? 182s
You have your go to verses, I like to call those comfort verses. 190s
They're like a warm blanket that you wrap yourself up in, it's a familiar word, you know 195s
it so well and it's so comforting. 202s
So today, we are going to talk about some of these Psalms that we can wrap around ourselves 204s
like a warm blanket and it's the warm blanket of God's Word and so these hopefully will 211s
help us to grow in ways that we can communicate with the Lord and in ways that He communicates 218s
with us through the Psalms. 227s
So let's go ahead and start with anger because that just sounds really fun, doesn't it? 230s
So we're going to start with anger. 237s
Has anyone in here ever been angry? 240s
Oh, okay, what did you say? 244s
Really, really, yes, of course. 246s
We all know what it is to be angry and we just want to burst, say naughty words, punch 249s
a wall, punch a nose, I don't know, but we are angry. 260s
And have you ever taken the time to slow down and consider why am I angry? 265s
What am I angry about? 271s
So we're going to go ahead and open up to Psalm 37. 274s
Psalm 37 and the Psalms are in the center of the Bible. 278s
So we're going to open up to Psalm 37 and we're going to just begin with verse 1. 286s
We'll read through, we'll read through about half of it here, not half of verse 1 but half of the 298s
Psalm. 303s
Okay, so it begins with do not fret because of the wicked, do not be envious of wrongdoers 304s
for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 311s
Trust in the Lord and do good so you will live in the land and enjoy security. 316s
Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. 321s
Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will act. 326s
He will make your vindication shine like the light and the justice of your cause like 329s
the noon day. 334s
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 336s
Do not fret over those who prosper in their way over those who carry out evil devices. 339s
Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. 345s
Do not fret. 348s
It leads only to evil. 349s
For the wicked shall be cut off but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 351s
Yet a little while and the wicked will be no more. 356s
Though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 359s
But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 362s
I wanted to start with this psalm because I think that it begins in the whole psalm is 369s
really this unfolding of that clashing reality that we have as saints and sinners. 377s
In Romans, Paul talks about this with the will where he says that I want to do good things, 386s
but I don't do good things. 394s
I don't do what I want to do and I do do what I don't want to do. 397s
And it's this constant clash. 405s
And here we have right where it begins in psalm 37. 407s
And I think that this is a really wonderful point of beginning with anger because how often does anger begin? 416s
Because we see an injustice being done to us. 425s
Or we see something going not according to how we want it to go. 430s
And sometimes, quite frankly, I'm going to be just really transparent here. 438s
Sometimes, if I really stop and ask myself, why am I angry at that person? 443s
Why am I angry for his or her behavior? 450s
And sometimes it comes right down to it that I am envious that they get to misbehave because I know better. 453s
Have you ever had that experience? 461s
Please don't tell me I'm alone. 464s
And so with this, it's calling that sort of anger that's born out of envy. 469s
That sort of anger is called out right here. 477s
Don't fret. They're doing wrong. 479s
It's not telling us that we have the right to judge or the right to condemn them. 483s
But it's not our place. 490s
We also don't want to be behaving or acting or thinking in a way that is not aligned with God. 492s
That is not aligned with God. 504s
And so we find this struggle throughout of that inner struggle as we go from knowing that I shouldn't be envy. 506s
As I know I shouldn't be angry. 517s
And yet I am. 520s
And so we can use this psalm to turn to the Lord. 522s
Because throughout the psalm, we find ourselves where one idea is placed forward and then we have the rebuttal. 527s
We have that re-centering or the right perspective. 535s
So do not fret because of the wicked. 539s
Do not be envious of wrongdoers. 542s
For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 544s
This is not saying like, yeah, cheer on for them to be smitten or smited. 548s
Not smited. 553s
Smited. 554s
Trust in the Lord. 556s
Do good. 557s
It's bringing our perspective back. 558s
Don't worry about the wrongdoing, the evil doer. 561s
Don't get yourself wrapped up there. 566s
Trust in the Lord. 570s
When we have that perspective shift, we find that our anger, especially when it's that anger that's built out of a sense of injustice or an anger that's built out of an envi-ness. 572s
We find that we can find that balance and that comfort once again because our perspective has been skewed. 588s
Does that make sense? 595s
How do we feel about that? 597s
Men? 598s
Okay. 602s
So, how does this help in a time of anger? 603s
How does this help in a time of anger? 607s
It turns our eyes back on the one who matters. 610s
It turns our eyes back on the one who is eternally just. 613s
We take ourselves or God's word by His grace, takes ourselves outside of our own fears, our own anger, our own emotion. 618s
And we get to have that step back because we are all living in our very slim portion of all time. 628s
And yet God sees and knows everything in the full, big picture, outside of space, outside of time. 638s
And so we turn to Him and we trust in the Lord. 647s
We commit our way to the Lord. 651s
So when you're angry, when you're angry, if you're angry, which I don't know if you ever get angry anymore, but if you ever get angry again, open up your Bible. 653s
Open up to Psalm 37 and just look and see and allow the Lord to use His Word to transform that heightened emotion of anger and ferocity and allow Him, 663s
not that you have any real rule or reign with the Lord, but invite Him, ask Him to come and write in your perspective. 678s
Make it right, turn it, mold it, shift it. 689s
Let's go back to Psalm 11 or turn back to Psalm 11. 693s
This is another one in which the Lord is doing that same thing. 700s
And it's really interesting that I don't know if you have a little tagline above these little Psalms or these Psalms, a little tagline. 705s
So like with Psalm 11, the tagline is Song of Trust in God. 714s
The previous one was a Psalm of patience. 720s
It's very interesting that those are the brief descriptors that are given because what is it to be out of control in anger or what is it to be angry? 725s
It's out of control in our emotion, right? 736s
And it's not trusting fully in the Lord and His justice. 739s
So with Psalm 11, we begin. 747s
In the Lord, I take refuge. 751s
How can you say to me, flee like a bird to the mountains? 752s
For look, the wicked bend the bow. 756s
They have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in the heart. 758s
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? 762s
Okay, so here it sounds pretty helpless. 766s
This is going on. 771s
The wicked have the bow. 773s
They're ready to attack. 774s
The world around me is crumbling. 776s
All hope is lost. 780s
And yet, verse four, the Lord is in His holy temple. 784s
The Lord's throne is in heaven. 790s
His eyes behold, His gaze examines humankind. 792s
We know that the Lord sits upon the throne. 797s
We know that the Lord is good. 800s
We know that the Lord is just. 801s
We know that the Lord is righteous. 803s
And so we can trust. 806s
Again, we're shifting that perspective by the grace of God from the right here, 807s
right now, emotion of anger or fear or anxiety. 813s
And we're shifting it back to trust in the one that sits on the throne. 818s
If we know and trust that God is on His throne, if we know and trust that He is sovereign 824s
and that He is exactly who He says He is, 830s
we know that we have nothing to fear. 834s
We know that justice will be done according to our just and sovereign God. 838s
What justice looks like for us or in our minds, in our opinions, 849s
is not necessarily what justice is because I can tell you there are many times 854s
where I'm driving down the road and someone is speeding past me or cuts me off 863s
and I want justice. 868s
And if I see that person pulled over, whoo, it feels good. 870s
You know that. 876s
But man, when I'm the one that runs a red light and gets pulled over, 878s
I do not like justice. 885s
So we do not want to expect or demand justice according to where we are 889s
in our exact moment in time because it's not our justice. 898s
It's the Lord's justice and we know that He is good and right and perfect and loving 905s
and so His justice that will prevail is for your good, for your benefit, 912s
according to His own purpose. 920s
So we can trust Him. 924s
In verse 7, I love this, love this, love this. 926s
The Lord is righteous. 930s
He loves righteous deeds and the upright shall behold His face, 932s
changing that perspective, changing the perspective of where we are, 939s
to who we serve and who has complete eyes and sovereignty on us and over us. 946s
Okay, so I don't want to talk about anger anymore. 955s
I don't like it. 958s
I deal with that enough in my own life. 960s
But the other thing I would like to point out here, you know, 964s
it's really interesting that anger and stress and anxiety and fear and envy 967s
that's really, really wrapped together. 975s
And it's so easy for one to lead into the next, to lead into the next. 978s
And this is also another affirmation for the gift that God's word is to us. 984s
It's not a one and done word for us. 991s
It's not one time He tells us, don't be angry, I've got it. 994s
It's all good. I'm just, I'm righteous. 998s
No, absolutely not, but we come over and over and over again. 1000s
And the more often we return to the Lord's word, the more often it works on us 1005s
and it's transforming us and molding us and softening our hearts and shaping our hearts. 1010s
And the more that we are shaped and transformed, the more our emotions and our perspective really gets aligned with Him 1016s
and in His word and with His will. 1026s
Have you experienced that in your own lives? 1030s
Yeah, have some nods. 1032s
It's really incredible. 1034s
It's really, really incredible. 1036s
And if you have not experienced that, don't take that as a word that you are a bad Christian. 1038s
Okay, I don't mean that as a way of guilt. 1044s
Sometimes the Lord convicts us in such a strong way and He brings us right back around with His word into alignment with His will. 1048s
And we can see it change in ourselves. 1058s
We can see a change in our loved one. 1060s
And some of us have just been so blessed by God's grace that you've been examples for us all already. 1062s
So do not take that as any sort of implication of being a bad Christian or anything like that because our faith is not based on experiential happenings. 1072s
So, from anger, let's go ahead and move to fear. 1083s
Is anyone scared of the dark? 1091s
Not anymore. 1094s
A little bit. 1096s
Was anyone scared of the dark when you were a kiddo? 1098s
Yeah, absolutely. 1102s
Do you have something that you fear? 1104s
Flying. 1107s
You know we have a lot of pilots in here, dude. 1108s
I know. 1110s
Okay. 1110s
Did you know how many people I go to the airport? 1112s
I was like, I got to give you a plane. 1114s
Okay, so we all have fears. 1117s
We all have fears. 1121s
And, you know, there may be a fear of snakes, a fear of spiders, a fear of flying, a fear of rain, a fear of what? 1122s
Did I hear something else? 1130s
The fear of heights. 1132s
Oh, yeah, that's a real one. 1133s
Yeah, absolutely. 1134s
Not that any of these fears aren't real. 1135s
But, yes, a fear of what? 1137s
Okay, she's not here, so I don't mind riding her out. 1139s
But my oldest daughter, no kidding. 1142s
She has a fear of dead geckos. 1145s
I know. 1152s
She has a fear of those. 1153s
Not of live ones, but of dead ones. 1155s
It's very bizarre. 1157s
But fear is an interesting emotion. 1159s
It makes us act in really weird ways. 1162s
Really weird ways. 1169s
And it really makes us act outside of our norm. 1171s
And certainly outside of how we would like to be acting. 1176s
But fear is real. 1182s
Fear is real. 1184s
Sometimes it's that fear, just as I was saying with the anger, sometimes the fear is that 1185s
we're not getting our justice. 1192s
That we're not getting our due. 1196s
Or maybe we have a fear because we don't think that our loved one is living how we think they should live. 1199s
Or making choices according to what we think they should be making. 1207s
And so we're going to look at fear and look at God's word. 1212s
Let's go to Psalm 56. 1216s
Fear is an interesting emotion because it is all across the board. 1220s
It's a really wide emotion. 1226s
So we are going to read Psalm 56. 1232s
And this is at a time when David was under persecution. 1236s
He was being hunted by Saul, tracked down. 1240s
And then he was taken by the Philistines. 1246s
And so he's writing this and he says, be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me all day. 1249s
All day long, foes oppress me. 1257s
My enemies trample on me all day long for many fight against me. 1260s
Almost high when I am afraid I put my trust in you. 1265s
Is David claiming that he should have no fear? 1270s
No. Is David claiming that he has no fear? 1272s
No. He's acknowledging that he's in a scary situation. 1281s
He's acknowledging that he doesn't know the way forward. 1285s
He doesn't know how he should be moving or the actions he should be making. 1292s
He doesn't know if his life is going to end in the next moment. 1298s
He does know that he has no need of fear because he can trust in the Lord. 1303s
Many fight against me. 1311s
Almost high when I am afraid I put my trust in you. 1313s
In God whose word I praise, in God I trust. 1320s
I am not afraid what can flesh do to me. 1323s
Again, we're shifting that perspective. 1329s
When we have a diagnosis or a loved one has a diagnosis that is fear invoking, that is scary. 1333s
It's not wrong to have that range of emotions. 1344s
It's not wrong to say, Lord, I am scared. 1351s
So don't not allow yourself to have the emotions. 1358s
It's part of how we're built. 1364s
Our bodies, our minds we need to go through those emotions. 1368s
But just as David was saying, I am having this emotion. 1372s
I am scared. 1377s
He's following it up with the confidence that he can have in God. 1379s
We know because Christ Jesus has died for us. 1386s
We know that our sins are forgiven. 1390s
We know that we are promised to be with him eternally. 1392s
We know that ultimately we have been healed. 1396s
So when our loved one or ourselves, when we get that diagnosis we don't like, we certainly pray. 1401s
We pray for healing. 1409s
We pray for strength. 1410s
We even pray and confess that we are scared. 1414s
But we also turn to the Lord. 1419s
And we ask for him to strengthen us. 1422s
We ask for him to alleviate that fear, that he would fill us with comfort. 1426s
And we can turn to God's Word. 1435s
We can turn to these Psalms. 1437s
And we can pray with David as he prayed to the Lord. 1439s
I put my trust in you, God. 1444s
I put my trust in you. 1448s
And sometimes that may be the only thing you have the ability to say. 1449s
And the Lord hears it. 1455s
And the Lord knows it. 1458s
And the Lord, as we are promised, prays with us and for us, interceding on our behalf. 1460s
Okay, we are getting close to... 1471s
Oh, okay. 1473s
So... 1475s
Stress. 1477s
Let's talk about stress. 1478s
Because we are getting close to the end. 1481s
Okay. 1483s
So, stress and anxiety has anyone ever laid awake at night woken up. 1484s
You don't know why. 1491s
And you are just lying there going, sleep. 1493s
Sleep. 1497s
But what about this and this and this and this and this and this and this and you start listing all of the things that you have to do or that you didn't do or that you don't want to do and you lie there or you hustle and bustle. 1498s
I know you see me hustling and bustling around here on a Sunday morning because I want to make sure everything is done. 1515s
Is everyone ready to need to be, right? 1520s
And there's this level of stress. 1522s
I am going to be so cool from now on. 1526s
Just chill. 1530s
Because there's nothing to stress about. 1532s
Now, stress is a real important emotion actually because it can be used for good. 1534s
We have that stress emotion for a purpose. 1541s
God did give it to us and it helps us to jump in action into action. 1544s
We need to have that burst of energy. 1549s
But it also can be used to our detriment, certainly not by the Lord, but the devil can use it to our detriment to attack us over and over and over. 1553s
Did you do this? 1564s
How do you fail here? 1566s
What are you going to do tomorrow? 1567s
What are you going to do the next day? 1569s
Do you have everything prepared? 1570s
And so we get into this again really inside our heads, stuck cycle. 1572s
So let's turn to the Lord. 1581s
All right, let's open up to Psalm 46. 1583s
And this is, we're just going to go ahead and go straight to that key Psalm. 1587s
It's so beautiful. 1594s
Or it's key verse, Psalm 46, verse 10. 1596s
Be still and know that I am God. 1599s
Be still and know that I am God. 1606s
Have you ever stopped yourself in the frenzy of whatever the stressful moment is? 1612s
Stopped, breathed in, breathed out. 1620s
Be still and know that I am God. 1626s
And how much calm comes over you? 1632s
And how much clearer are you able to think? 1636s
We know that we are not walking this side of heaven alone. 1642s
We know that God knows the depths of our sorrows, the heights of our joys. 1650s
We know that He knows every little hair on our heads. 1658s
He does not turn away from us. 1666s
He does not leave us to figure things out for ourselves. 1669s
And so when we get wrapped up in the stress of the moment, in the stress of the next moment, 1674s
we do have to take care of things, but we're not doing it alone. 1682s
I encourage you. 1692s
If you find yourself in a stressful moment, we're going to go back to traffic now. 1694s
How about that? 1699s
Because traffic is a very emotive sort of happening. 1699s
So when you are in traffic and you are stressed out, encourage you to take a breath. 1704s
Don't close your eyes, but take a breath. 1714s
And pray, be still and know that I am God. 1719s
Be still and know that He is God. 1725s
And what does it say right after that? 1730s
I am exalted among the nations. 1733s
I am exalted in the earth. 1735s
The Lord of hosts is with us. 1738s
The God of Jacob is our refuge. 1740s
We are invited to seek refuge in the Lord. 1746s
And how do we get to commune with the Lord, but by His word and turning to His word? 1750s
And He says, turn to me, come to me. 1758s
I am here. 1761s
I think it's Steve Burke that always tells me, and I love this. 1764s
Yes, he's like, oh good, I'm getting mentioned. 1767s
He says, this is the only book where you get to sit down and read it with the author. 1769s
Every time you open God's word, every time you engage with Him through it, 1778s
He Himself is speaking to you. 1785s
He has something to share with you. 1789s
He has a way for you to get to know Him better. 1792s
And He has a way for you to get to know Yourself better through His Spirit. 1795s
We have no need to fear. 1802s
We have no need to walk around angry at what we see in this world, 1805s
at what we experience in this world. 1811s
We have no need to stress ultimately because we know that God is with us. 1813s
We know that God is who He says He is. 1823s
We know that we have been redeemed by His blood and that we have been counted righteous, 1827s
not because we've stressed enough about it, not because we've fought hard enough for it, 1834s
but because He loves us. 1840s
He has made it so and called you to be His own. 1844s
And so we can all take great comfort, take a deep breath in, 1848s
and praise the Lord because we know that He is the God who loves you, 1855s
the God who has saved you, and the God who walks with you today and always. 1861s