Life Verses
Some call them “Life Verses” while others give then different names – these Scripture verses that one discovers in the tough times of life; that become more than just daily Bible verses. I was fifteen years old, laying in a Houston Hospital bed with a broken second vertebrae of my neck and a broken future, when God gave me Romans 8:28, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
As a young adult, in the midst of a ministry crisis, God gave me Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
As I was retiring from my Seminary faculty position, I asked God for a new retirement verse, and He gave me Psalm 71:17-18, “O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.”
Last week, with new medical discoveries that dictated life and ministry changes, I asked God for another verse to get me through the uncomfortable and unwanted changes ahead. The very next morning, the chapter in my online Bible Reading Group was Isaiah 41. When I got to verses 9-10, I paused to weep. “You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Later that morning I made my first of many upcoming visits with my Cardiologist. As I listened to his plans for my future, I thanked God, not only for the verses of the day, but for the timing of my new “life verses.”
That same morning, a good friend and colleague posted on social media, “It’s not about decoding hidden messages—it’s about obeying a revealed one.” A new message/life verse had been revealed to me. Just as with all previous “life verses,” non of which needed to be decoded, I will obey.