Reading Reference

Psalm 62–66

The Human Question

Why is it so hard to slow down and trust God?

I was thinking about that question recently, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much of life trains us in the opposite direction.

From an early age we’re taught to work harder, solve problems faster, anticipate challenges, and stay productive. In many ways those are good lessons. Responsibility matters. Preparation matters. Hard work matters.

But somewhere along the way, many of us begin believing that everything depends on us.

We become the problem-solver in the family.

The provider.

The fixer.

The planner.

The one who carries the burden.

Then life inevitably presents us with situations we cannot fix.

A child makes a decision we wouldn’t have chosen.

A relationship becomes strained.

A health issue emerges.

A prayer remains unanswered.

A door closes unexpectedly.

And suddenly all the effort in the world cannot produce the outcome we want.

Looking back, some of the most frustrating seasons of my life were the ones where I could not do much except wait, pray, and trust. Those were not my favorite lessons. In fact, if I’m being honest, I would have preferred a checklist and a clear action plan.

But God often seems more interested in teaching trust than simply providing solutions.

That is one of the themes running through Psalm 62–66.

The Wisdom Beneath the Passage

Psalm 62 contains a verse that feels increasingly important the older I get:

“My soul finds rest in God alone.”

At first glance, those words seem simple. But when you stop and think about them, they’re actually quite challenging.

Most people spend a large part of their lives searching for rest in other places.

Some look for it in financial security.

Some in success.

Some in relationships.

Some in achievement.

Some in retirement plans.

Some in the hope that if they can just solve the next problem, they’ll finally feel settled.

The problem is that those things were never designed to provide ultimate rest.

David had experienced success, influence, victory, wealth, and power. Yet he understood something many people spend decades discovering. Rest is not primarily the result of favorable circumstances. It comes from knowing where to place your trust.

Psalm 63 takes us deeper into that idea.

David is in the wilderness when he writes it. That’s important because wilderness seasons have a way of clarifying what matters most. Comfort disappears. Distractions become fewer. The things we normally depend upon are stripped away.

It is there that David writes:

“O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You.”

What strikes me is that David is not merely seeking answers from God. He is seeking God Himself.

There’s a difference.

I’ve noticed that many of my prayers naturally focus on outcomes. I want God to fix something, open something, change something, provide something, or resolve something.

David reminds me that sometimes the greater gift is not what God gives but God Himself.

Psalm 64 and 65 continue this theme by describing God’s faithfulness in both danger and blessing. David looks at creation, at provision, at answered prayers, and sees evidence that God remains actively involved in the lives of His people.

Then Psalm 66 broadens the conversation even further.

The psalmist looks back over difficult seasons and recognizes something that is often only visible in hindsight.

God was working even in the hard places.

The trials were not pleasant.

The waiting was not easy.

But God had not abandoned His people.

He was shaping them.

The Manly Training Lens

One of the great struggles for many men is learning the difference between carrying responsibility and carrying everything.

Those are not the same thing.

Responsibility is healthy.

God calls us to lead our families, keep our commitments, work diligently, and steward what He has entrusted to us.

The problem comes when responsibility slowly turns into self-reliance.

I’ve fallen into that trap more than once.

There have been seasons where I carried worries God never assigned to me. I replayed scenarios in my mind, tried to anticipate every possible outcome, and exhausted myself attempting to control things that were never truly under my control.

What I can see now is that trust requires surrender.

Not passivity.

Not laziness.

Not avoidance.

Surrender.

It means doing what we can do while trusting God with what we cannot.

Psalm 62 keeps bringing us back to that truth. David speaks of waiting quietly before God. That’s difficult for people who like action. It can feel unproductive. Yet some of the deepest spiritual growth happens during seasons where outward progress seems slow.

Those seasons reveal what we actually believe.

Do we trust God only when things are moving according to our plans?

Or do we trust Him when all we can do is wait?

That question exposes the heart.

It also points us toward Christ.

Jesus consistently lived with a level of trust that most of us aspire to. He worked diligently, served faithfully, and fulfilled His mission, yet He never carried anxiety about outcomes. Again and again He entrusted Himself to the Father.

The same invitation remains open to us.

Reflection Question

What situation in your life right now requires trust more than effort?

Final Thought

Psalm 62–66 reminds us that some of the most important lessons in life are learned while waiting.

Waiting reveals what we trust.

Waiting reveals what we fear.

Waiting reveals where we seek security.

Looking back, I can see that many of the seasons I wanted God to change quickly were actually seasons He was using to change me.

At the time, I didn’t always appreciate that.

Now I can see His faithfulness more clearly.

David discovered that true rest was not found in circumstances but in God. The psalmists discovered that God’s presence remained steady through both wilderness seasons and seasons of blessing.

And through Christ, we discover the same thing.

The God who carried His people through every season is still carrying His people today.

Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is stop striving long enough to remember that.

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About the Author

Eduardo Quintana is the founder of Manly Training and has spent more than three decades leading teams, developing leaders, discipling men, and helping people navigate the challenges of faith, family, leadership, and personal growth.

His passion is helping others develop the spiritual strength, wisdom, composure, and character necessary to thrive in an increasingly challenging world.

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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible.

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