15 Songs to Listen to When You Are Discouraged
Note: This article is the first in a series of articles on 15 songs for different seasons of life. Click here to see the second.
One of the greatest gifts that God has given us in this life is music, particularly music that pairs biblical truth with powerful melody, harmony, and instrumentation. The pairing of truth to music has the unique capacity to stir our emotions and affections in a Godward direction. Certainly, music has at times been used to wrongly manipulate people’s emotions apart from truth. But music that is powerfully and fittingly linked to biblical truth ought to encourage us and influence our emotions. This is why one of the largest books of the Bible is a song book: Psalms. It is a book of the Bible that was intended to be sung. Why? Because biblical truth that is sung influences our hearts and affections in a uniquely powerful way and makes the truth more memorable.
Many of you who have been through significant trials know how helpful truth-filled music is in directing your thoughts to who God is and to the hope we have in our relationship with Him through Jesus. This has certainly been the case for me as I’ve worked through my current trial with a voice disorder. Both the songs we sing on Sunday and the songs I listen to throughout the week (which are often the same!) direct my mind and heart to trust in the unwavering character and kind providence of our faithful God.
So, I wanted to share some of the songs that have been most meaningful to me over the past year. This list started with 10 songs and then quickly moved to 15 songs. It could easily be 30 or 50 or more! But I decided to stop at 15. The vast majority on the list below are songs that we’ve sung (or heard the choir sing) in our corporate worship services. I’ve listed them below with the portions of the text that have been particularly encouraging to me. Next to the title of each song, I’ve linked to a YouTube version of the song (and for the songs that are public domain, I’ve also included a video of our congregation singing the song). I’ve also linked to YouTube, YouTube Music, and Spotify playlists that I made which include all 15 songs. My hope is that these songs will move your heart and affections to trust God in the middle of whatever circumstances you find yourself.
Note: The versions of the songs that I’ve chosen may not be your preference. That’s totally fine. Take what you find helpful. Leave what you don’t. Feel free to search for other versions of the song if you want. Or create your own playlist. I’d be happy to help you with either of these things. So, feel free to reach out if you want. And please share other songs with me that have been encouraging to you when you’ve gone through trials. I’d love to expand my playlist beyond these!
YouTube Playlist
YouTube Music Playlist
Spotify Playlist
1. Day by Day (YouTube and HPBC Congregation)
This song was the first that came to my mind when I thought of helpful songs during times of discouragement. It has stood the test of time, and each stanza is packed with helpful truths. While I’ve only included excerpts of most of the songs below, this one is simply too good to exclude any part.
Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best–
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.
Ev'ry day the Lord himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares he gladly bears and cheers me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of his child and treasure
Is a charge that on himself he laid:
“As your days, your strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me he made.
Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when, toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.1
2. One Day (When We All Get To Heaven) (YouTube)
Questions are natural when we serve a good, faithful God in a broken, fallen world. This song encourages us that “one day every question [will be] resolved.” It’s a glorious pairing of new lyrics with the chorus of the old hymn “When We All Get to Heaven.” I love Matt Redman’s musical meditation on the new heavens and new earth at the end of this song (“…no depression, no cancer…”).
One day You'll make everything new, Jesus
One day You will bind every wound
The former things shall all pass away
No more tears
One day You'll make sense of it all, Jesus
One day every question resolved
Every anxious thought left behind
No more fear2
3. I Have a Shelter (YouTube)
Our church has enjoyed hearing the choir sing this song for the past ten years, and we’ve sung it in more recent years. Jesus is our shelter in times of storm.
O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace.
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows.
I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me.
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me.3
4. Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor (YouTube)
This is another song our church has enjoyed singing congregationally since it was published in 2015.
Christ, the sure and steady Anchor
In the fury of the storm;
When the winds of doubt blow through me,
And my sails have all been torn.
In the suffering, in the sorrow,
When my sinking hopes are few,
I will hold fast to the Anchor;
It shall never be removed.
Christ, the sure and steady Anchor
As we face the wave of death;
When these trials give way to glory,
As we draw our final breath.
We will cross that great horizon,
Clouds behind and life secure.
And the calm will be the better
For the storms that we endure.4
5. Christ, My Hope in Life and Death (YouTube)
In more recent days, we’ve sung this as a congregation after hearing the choir sing it for a couple years. The second stanza particularly zooms in on our hope in Christ in the midst of trials. This song has one of the greatest choruses of any song I’ve ever sung.
What truth can calm the troubled soul?
God is good, God is good.
Where is his grace and goodness known?
In our great Redeemer's blood.
Who holds our faith when fears arise?
Who stands above the stormy trial?
Who sends the waves that bring us nigh
Unto the shore, the rock of Christ?5
6. Blessings (YouTube)
The choir has sung this song a couple times in the past six years. The text is very real-to-life and encourages you to ponder this question: “What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?
What if my greatest disappointments,
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life,
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights,
Are Your mercies in disguise?6
7. Sovereign Over Us (YouTube)
One of the hardest parts of trials in this life is knowing that God is sovereign in the midst of them. And yet, that is our hope as well. This song leads us to that sometimes hard but hopeful truth.
There is strength within the sorrow.
There is beauty in our tears.
And you meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear.
You are working in our waiting.
You're sanctifying us.
When beyond our understanding,
You're teaching us to trust.7
8. In the Valley (Bless the Lord) (YouTube)
This song was written to be a companion to the book Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God, a book by Tim Challies after his college-aged son unexpectedly passed away.
When the path that I feared
Is the way He has set
And I long to give in and retreat
Still to Jesus I hold
As I face every step
For the Lord he will give me His peace
When the road that I tread
Fills my heart with despair
And it seems like my grief has no end
Still to Jesus I hold
Who will walk with me there
And the Lord he will give me His strength.8
9. Still My Soul, Be Still (YouTube)
“Still My Soul, Be Still” has been a regular for us at Hampton Park. Often in the Psalms, David speaks to his soul and tells himself how he ought to be responding to his external circumstances. This song helps us to do that well.
Still, my soul be still, and do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow.
God is at your side;
No longer dread the fires of unexpected sorrow.
God, You are my God,
And I will trust in You and not be shaken.
Lord of peace, renew a steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone.9
10. Be Still, My Soul (YouTube and HPBC Congregation)
Similar to the previous song, this song encourages us to speak truth to ourselves when we face discouragement and pain in this life. Similar to “Day by Day,” I couldn’t decide which lyrics to leave out because they are all so good and helpful. This also includes a third stanza that may be unknown to some.
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heav’nly friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past;
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he lived below.
Be still, my soul; when dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know his love, his heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From his own fullness all he takes away.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.10
11. What God Ordains Is Always Right (YouTube)
These really helpful words have been paired to many tunes. However, this seems to me to be the most “singable” of them all. The text is another one that is especially helpful in its entirety, one worth memorizing.
Whate'er my God ordains is right,
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate'er He does,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God, though dark my road;
He holds me that I shall not fall;
And so to Him I leave it all,
And so to Him I leave it all.
Whate'er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He has sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away;
And patiently I wait His day,
And patiently I wait His day.
Whate'er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all, unshrinking.
My God is true, each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart;
And pain and sorrow shall depart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.
Whate'er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father's care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall;
And so to Him, I leave it all,
And so to Him I leave it all.11
12. It Is Well with My Soul (YouTube and HPBC Congregation)
The gospel is the reason that we can say that it is well with our souls no matter what we are facing in this life. This song is rich with gospel truth, gospel hope.
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And has shed His own blood for my soul.12
13. I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130) (YouTube)
Waiting. This theme is prevalent in the Psalms. A friend recently told me that he thinks the biblical idea of “waiting” is kind of like a spiritual discipline. God calls us to wait on His perfect timing. That is the theme of this song.
Out of the depths I cry to You,
In darkest places I will call.
Incline Your ear to me anew,
And hear my cry for mercy, Lord.
I will wait for You,
I will wait for You,
On Your word, I will rely.
I will wait for You,
Surely wait for You,
Till my soul is satisfied.13
14. I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow (YouTube)
I read these old lyrics before I sang them. And I remember distinctly the first time I read through them. I got to the sixth stanza and stopped. This song is like a story from beginning to end. And the final two stanzas drive us to consider the fact that the trials of this life are often God’s answer to our prayers to grow closer to him.
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and ev’ry grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request
And, by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in ev’ry part.
Yea, more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe,
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Humbled my heart and laid me low.
“Lord, why is this,” I trembling cried;
“Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?”
“’Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”
“These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”14
15. Come to Jesus (Rest in Him) (YouTube)
This brand-new song is one our choir has sung a couple times recently. The tune and text fit the theme of finding comfort and rest in Jesus.
Are you weary, heavy laden?
Come and lay your burdens down.
Jesus calls you, Jesus draws you,
Rest in Him.
He is gentle, He is lowly,
He delights to bring us peace.
Tender Shepherd, mighty Savior,
Rest in Him.
Are you waiting in your sorrows
For this broken world to heal?
He is coming, soon returning,
Rest in Him.
We will see Him, we will know Him,
O what heights of grace revealed;
From his kindness every promise
Then fulfilled.
O trust in Jesus,
He will keep us to the end.15
1 Words: Carolina S. Berg, 1832-1903; trans. by Andrew L. Skoog, 1856-1934, Music: Oscar Ahnfelt, 1813-1882, Public Domain
2 Words and Music: Beth Redman / Leonard Jarman / Matt Redman, ©2017 worshiptogether.com Songs
3 Words: Bob Kauflin, Steve Cook, and Vikki Cook, MUSIC: Bob Kauflin, Steve Cook, and Vikki Cook, Words and Music ©2008 Sovereign Grace Worship
4 Words: Matt Boswell and Matt Papa, MUSIC: Matt Boswell and Matt Papa, Words and Music ©2015 Doxology and Theology Publishing
5 Words: Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, and Matt Papa, Music: Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, and Matt Papa © 2020 Getty Music Publishing (BMI)
6 Words: Laura Story ©2011 New Spring Publishing
7 Words: Aaron Keyes, Jack Mooring, and Bryan Brown ©2015 Meaux Jeaux Music
8 Words: Tim Challies, Jonny Robinson, and Rich Thompson ©2022 CityAlight Music
9 Words: Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend; MUSIC: Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend; Words and Music ©2009 Thankyou Music
10 Words: Katharina von Schlegel, Public Domain
11 Words: Samuel Rodigast, 1675; tr. Catherine Winkworth, (1829-1878), Public Domain; Music: Matt Merker & Keith Getty ©2018 Getty Music Publishing & Matthew Merker Music
12 Words: Horatio G. Spafford, Public Domain
13 Words: Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, Keith Getty, Stuart Townend ©2018 Getty Music Publishing
14 Words by John Newton (1779) Public Domain
15 Words: Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker ©2023 Getty Music Publishing
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