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With so many verses to choose from I often wonder how people choose their favorite.  How do you narrow it down to just one verse?  And do you keep that same verse your whole life?  I know the answers to these questions are different for everyone.  Some people may choose a favorite and it never changes.  Some, like me, may have their favorite verse change with the seasons of life.  

Growing up my favorite Bible Verse was Philippians 4:13,

” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

Everyone knew me by this verse.  I had it hanging in my locker at school.  I added it to my shirts, it was part of my signature, and I even put it as the return address on all my letters.  This was the verse I used when I spoke at my husband’s funeral all those years ago.  It is still one of my favorites and very dear to my heart.  I have stood on this verse through many dark days in the past and I still get asked if it is my favorite.

Then two years ago I was walking through a storm that gave me a whole spiral of scriptures that I wrote down and would read daily.  I covered my bathroom mirror in them and had sticky notes of scriptures all over my work computer.  I was constantly coming across scriptures that spoke to me and I would write them all down!  During this time a friend sent me a text message one day with Romans 12:12, 

“Rejoicing in hope; be patient in tribulation; be constant in prayer.”

This verse was so perfect for me during that season of my life.  If I was having a bad day, my daughter would ask me, “Are you rejoicing in your hope, momma?”  This would change my whole perspective on the day and remind me to do just that…Rejoice in my hope! Being patient was a little harder during that time and honestly, I’m still not great at patience but I continue to work on it!  Being constant in prayer made the biggest difference in my life.  It kept me in communication with my Heavenly Father and helped me keep my heart and mind on things above!  Our attitudes are determined by our focus and this verse helped me to keep my focus on the Lord instead of my circumstances.  This verse meant so much to me that I devoted a blog post to it which you can read here.  

As I continued to walk and talk with the Lord He filled me with a new confidence and a new strength.  He gave me the verse 2 Timothy 1:7,

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”

As I look back now He was preparing me for what was ahead. I would need this scripture more than I knew.  All the walking and talking with Him would help me through the heartbreak I was going to experience.  I would lose 3 very important people in my life over the next 7 months.  My boyfriend of 11 years died of a heart attack, my mother would pass just three months later from breast cancer, and then 4 months after that, I would spend almost two weeks in the hospital watching my daddy die of cancer as well. 

I wrote this scripture on the whiteboard in my daddy’s hospital room and I would pray it over him every day, sometimes silently and sometimes out loud where he could hear me.  This verse would hold true for us in that hospital room.  My daddy went from being afraid to go to sleep at night to being ready to go home to his Heavenly Father.  He was able to make decisions for himself that he would share with me and I would make sure they happened.  He was able to tie up any loose ends so that I would know what to do when the time came.  And the love in that room could be felt by all who walked in.  I don’t mind telling you I was my daddy’s favorite, his only girl out of 4 kids and we needed that time together to just be together and to say goodbye.  This would be the scripture that I would speak about at my daddy’s funeral.  This would be the scripture I would hold tight to from that day forward. 

It is now the scripture that I write with my signature, it is on the home page of my blog, and I read it every day as a reminder of what God has done for me.  I am not fully the woman I was before all of the loss but I would not be able to stand before you today if it weren’t for my Lord and the time He took to prepare me for those 7 months and the days beyond.  I was only strong enough for it because He was and continues to be my strength and He continues to give me power.  His love carries me through my joy and my pain.  He keeps me sane when I could so easily go crazy from all of this!  

If you take the time to be still and listen, He will always give you exactly what you need.  You might not even realize it at the time but know that He will show up for you in the biggest way possible!  His Word will fill you up and carry you through if you spend time in it daily!  Find the verse you need for the season you are in and cling to it!  Write it everywhere so you are reminded of His promises.  Stand on it as you pray.  Most of all be thankful!  Thankful for a God who takes the time for you, who meets you right where you are, and who goes before you and paves the way!

I would love to hear your favorite verses and what they mean to you in the comments below! You never know who will be healed hearing your testimony!  In sharing with others there will be healing for you as well! I look forward to seeing what God can do through us!  

Blessings, 

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.