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Psalm 44:18

Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path,

16at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger.
17All this has come on us, yet we haven’t forgotten you. We haven’t been false to your covenant.
18Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path,
19though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.
20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,
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← Psalm 44:17Psalm 44:19 →
Notice

Heart and steps remain faithful amid devastation, leaving the tension of obedience to God and suffering at his hand unresolved.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

Where does your experience challenge the expectation that following God's path will keep you from suffering?

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What does the distinction between a faithful heart and faithful steps help you name today?

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What would you want to say to God about the suffering surrounding this declaration of faithfulness?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 17:5My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped.Both prayers describe steps that have stayed on God's paths, using the movement of feet to speak of faithfulness.
Job 23:11My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way, and not turned away.Job and the speakers in Psalm 44 both declare that they have kept God's way without turning aside.
Proverbs 4:5Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth.Both describe staying on a course: the psalm names God's path, and Proverbs warns against departing from instruction.
Psalm 119:51The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law.Both psalms describe faithfulness under taunts, with the speakers refusing to depart from God's path or law.
Psalm 119:157Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven’t swerved from your testimonies.Both passages describe people facing enemies while declaring that they have stayed faithful to God's direction.
Psalm 37:31The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.Both connect the heart with steady steps, describing devotion to God in inward and outward terms.
Zephaniah 1:6those who have turned back from following the LORD, and those who haven’t sought the LORD nor inquired after him.Turning back from God is the shared concern: the psalm denies this departure, while Zephaniah names those who have departed.
1 Corinthians 15:58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.Both concern steadfastness toward God: the psalm declares continued faithfulness, and Paul urges believers to remain steadfast in the Lord's work.
Job 34:27because they turned away from following him, and wouldn’t pay attention to any of his ways,Both speak of God's ways and turning away, contrasting the psalm's claim of faithfulness with a description of departure.
Jeremiah 11:10They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel …The psalm's surrounding lines deny covenant betrayal, while Jeremiah describes Israel and Judah turning back and breaking God's covenant.
Luke 17:32Remember Lot’s wife!The connection is limited: the psalm declares faithfulness, while Jesus commands remembrance of Lot's wife without explaining her story in this sentence.
Where this verse fits

Feeling distant from God. doubt. injustice and anger.

What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 17–19 aloud as one prayer

prayeroncelight
Encouragement

You do not have to explain every hardship as evidence of abandoning God. Here, his people speak of hearts and steps that remain faithful amid crushing loss.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 44:18. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 44 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).