I’ve been feeling down about a situation in my life that seems hopeless and beyond my control. (I’ve finally let go of the illusion that I can control any circumstance.)
In the midst of battling negative thoughts and futile attempts to use food to make myself feel better, I decided to clean out a cupboard in the kitchen. In there I found a baggie that had pieces of paper in it. This collection of neatly folded papers had been on that shelf for years.
I remembered that they were Bible verses. Originally I think I may have printed out the verses to encourage myself years ago when I was in a crisis and took one out when it seemed that I had no strength to go on. Also I had used them in a group setting where I had each person pick out a verse to be encouraged.
I certainly needed some encouragement at that moment.
So I decided that for the next week I would pick out a verse each day and apply it to my situation. Here are the verses that I picked out for a week’s time.
Day 1 Is anything too hard for the LORD? Genesis 18:14 NIV
Day 2 Patience. Galatians 5:22 ESV (I remember sticking that piece of paper with that single word on it in the baggie at some point along the way.)
Day 3 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 KJV
Day 4 For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28 KJV
Day 5 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want…He restores my soul…Psalm 23:1 & 3 NKJV
Day 6 Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit saith the LORD. Zechariah 4:6 KJV
Day 7 Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4
Each verse seemed perfect for the situation and just what I needed that day. Somehow having just one verse presented to me instead of quickly reading a chunk of the Bible halfheartedly seemed to make the verse so special. And something about “reusing” Scripture that had helped me in the past lifted my spirits. I prayed that God would give me grace to receive the promise connected with each Scripture.
Another verse came to mind as I thought about finding these Bible verses in my cupboard—especially since I had been busy eating food in recent days instead of God’s Word to deal with my heartache.
Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16 NASB).
I especially like that this verse from Jeremiah ends with calling God “LORD God of hosts.” I remembered when studying the names of God that “the Lord of hosts” was a name that showed our God fights our battles for us. This is what I found online about Jehovah-Sabaoth—the Lord of Hosts that lifted my spirits even more:
“Throughout Scripture we find this LORD of Hosts as our ever present defender, the Sovereign and Holy God over all the universe who sees us, loves us and moves mountains on our behalf. He fights our battles, wins our wars and is the refuge we can run to in time of need. He is Jehovah-Sabaoth!” (Donotdepart.com) Wow!
Because I felt so encouraged after the week was over, I kept going. Next week I’ll let you know what those other verses are.
How about you? Are you going through a time of feeling discouraged? Why not pick out your favorite Bible verses and apply them to your situation. You might take the time to put them on paper and fold them, so you can look at them one day at a time for encouragement later.
Here is a song that brought me encouragement lately as well. God is so good.
“Hope In Front Of Me” by Danny Gokey (American Idol finalist)
Hearts Set Free Blog 
Elaine, I love your idea of applying one Scripture promise per day to whatever situations and circumstances arise that day…it reminds me of how I pray these Scriptures…”Thy will be done.—Matthew 6:10;; Not my will, but Thine, be done.—Luke 22:42; The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.—Psalm 23:1,” by picturing Jesus Christ, my Shepherd, in the green pasture of the 23rd Psalm. I take whatever concern I have, or person for whom I am interceding by the hand. I walk out to the meadow, the green pasture. I place my concern, or the hand of the person for whom I am interceding, in Jesus’ hand, knowing that He is sovereign, He loves me, and He loves the person for whom I am interceding more than I do, He has a plan, a hope, and a future for each of us, and I walk away, thanking God for how He is working in my life and in the lives of those for whom I am interceding, and I experience His peace.. As Catherine Marshall prayed, “Lord, I trust You…You know what You’re doing…I relinquish my will to Yours.”
Dear Beth, Thank you for this comment. I appreciate the Scriptures and telling me again and others how you pray and picture Jesus as Shepherd. I’ve told many others about that. Oh, how I want to echo what Catherine Marshall said. It’s so hard to give up my will and my way. Lord, help me.
Thanks Elaine – I have been wanting to go home and be with my wife a lot the last 18 months and times before! She went to Jesus the summer of ’96. When is a break going to come and the whys of course with no apparent answer. However as Sammy Davis Jr. once wrote and said ‘why not me?’. I ask for prayer each day and some are better and some are dreadful! Still I have Jesus to go to — The Lord of hosts .. I looked it up and thanks! Other faiths or non-theitic beliefs don’t have that … it’s how I settled on Jesus studying for 50 years! LOL Let’s keep each other in prayer and finding Peace and Joy … I haven’t figured that out yet~! Thanks for the post~! God Bless! Rick
Dear Rick, Thank you for your comment. It’s hard when you miss someone so much. Where would we be without Jesus? I pray that you will have peace and joy. I seem able to receive peace and joy from the Lord, but I have difficulty holding on to it. Often it just takes a hateful, hurtful statement from an angry person, and I start to sink again. Lord, cover us and carry us.
So true thanks for the confirmation. Since dealing with a health issue (Now limited one cup of coffee a day and no carbs/junk food) I knew I needed a lot of strength to get even the day to day things done. I pulled out this verse out of a blessing box to text to my girls for the day (try to do daily) and it was, Isaiah 40:29 “God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the the weak.”
Dear Christine, thank you for the comment and for that Scripture you shared. That’s another one that speaks to the trials I am facing and to what others are going through. I pray that God will help you through this time of health problems.
Elaine, my name is edd hogeboom (www.BlessedBooks.com). I am very much in agreement with you regarding the strengthening value of individual scriptures from the Bible as opposed to attempting to consume God’s Holy Word in large doses at one time. I truly respect those who have read the Bible from cover to cover, but I wonder what effect of all that marvelous content has on their lives.
Elaine, I get daily scriptures every morning. A single scripture arrives on my tablet/phone of which I always read first thing in the morning before I arise. There’s another app that sends me seven different scriptures (some very lengthy) and I read them if I “feel” like it or have the time. But the single scripture I read virtually every morning.
Let me make a suggestion though. My wife and I have been reading a book along with our scriptures (I believe NOTHING can replace God’s Holy Word!!!) virtually every night since the early to mid 1980’s. It’s set up with individual readings from Jan. 1st to Dec 31st. It’s entitled “God Calling”. It was written in the early 1930’s by two women, lonely, sick and desperate. You can “search” the name of this book (“God Calling”) and read a more complete synopsis of it and “the two listeners” that wrote it. A.J. Russel is the editor, but would never divulge who the two women were.
I had loss my job and had a family to take care of. A business associate down in the Miami area (we lived in the Orlando area at that time in our lives) mailed me a copy of “God Calling”. He told me that someone had given it to his wife after he had lost his job several years before and they began to read it every night before going to sleep. My wife gave me his package when I arrived home that day (been out looking for work). I didn’t open it until we got in bed that night. My wife dropped off to sleep very quickly, but I opened his package and began to look through his gift to me. He wrote in the front that it got him and his wife through that stressful time of having lost his job and they’ve been reading it ever since.
I just thought I’d read that day’s entry – three and a half hours later I had read the whole book. I woke my wife up at about three in the morning to tell her how fantastic the book was and we’ve been reading it nightly ever since. As my friend said in the note he had placed in the package, you will want to give a copy to all your friends and people you will meet in the future and that’s so true. I have given away probably close to 50 over the years. The tradition, I was told by my friend, is to never give someone else your very first copy that you were given or started out with. I’m not sure why that is, but we’ve honored the tradition and I recommend it to you as well.
Elaine, I’ve been told stories of life changing results that has come into people’s lives who have read and continue to read “God Calling.” Just one example is that one of my wife’s cousins told us about how they received the book. His wife’s sister was in dire straights! Her husband walked out on her for another woman. She was destitute and depressed. The wife’s cousin and his wife had been reading the book for a while. His wife gave a copy to her sister when all her troubles started. Her sister told her later that she simply dropped the book into her bedside table’s drawer without even opening it. One night a week or so after her husband left her, she entered her bedroom with every intent of killing herself! She sat on the side of her bed and opened the drawer in her bedside table to get a bottle of sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed for her. Her intent was to take an overdose and, thus, end her life in this world! The thing she saw first in the draw was the book “God Calling” which her sister had given her several weeks earlier. For some reason she opened it and just began reading what was on that particular page. She ended up reading the entire book that night and, Praise God, did not kill herself!!
The protocol is to never give up the original book of “God Calling” that you buy or receive. If you wish to give a copy to someone else you buy a new copy for them and instruct them to do the same thing when they share it as they will surely do. I was in a Bible bookstore one day many years ago and the owner walked up and asked me if he could help me find anything. I said, “Yes, I’m looking for a book called “God Calling.” He said, “Oh yes, I keep them right back here.” I told him I was re-stocking my supply because I often gave it to others. He smiled and shared with me that since the 1940’s, “God Calling” was and is, every year, in the top twenty Spiritual books sold in the world!! So, since we’re not in the same town, I’m afraid you’ll have to buy your own, but at least I encouraged you to read it over the next year…any I’ll wager, the rest of your days on this earth. Again, it’s in no way intended to replace The Bible, but both scriptural and spiritually it supports God’s Holy Word!!
It’s an incredible gift given two ladies in their time of spiritual need by Christ Jesus!!! He gave them the words and they put them on paper. You must read the “Forward” to understand how the book came to be. Well, I’ve taken far too much of your time, but in our agreement regarding how meaningful a single scripture can be to get us through the day, I feel you will find this book an incredible “Gift” from Jesus, Himself!!! God Bless you and walk with Him each and everyday.
Blessings always,
edd
Dear Edd, Thank you for this comment. I have read God Calling and often turn back to it. Many passages from that book have spoken to me and encouraged me. God bless you as you bless others.
Thank you Elaine for being honest. Your transparent journal is beautiful. God reads each word.
Dear Tammy, thank you for your comment. I hadn’t thought about God reading my journal, but of course He does. And I so want to please Him with everything I write. I do believe He appreciates when we are honest.
You are such a blessing Elaine,I needed to hear this today.
Sue, thank you for your comment. The second sentence is music to a writer’s ears.