What's Your Life Verse?

I am very excited about this topic!  This is a simple and to-the-point article, but I believe it will be meaningful for someone.  There’s a lot of scripture contained here, so please stick with me.  There’s an important message at the end!

​Have you ever heard of a “life verse”? The term refers to a verse that holds special meaning for a person or a verse they rely on regularly to guide their life. While not directly a scriptural concept, it makes sense that believers claim specific verses in such a way, as scripture is the most direct method God uses to speak to His people. One danger of the “life verse” concept, is that it can become a cliché, almost akin to a person’s birthstone or astrological sign. But, for true believers, having a life verse, and especially being able to communicate “why” it is meaningful, is a good way to share their faith. (Read more ideas about how to use scripture in my article "Rightly Divided".)

In truth, the whole of scripture is “life” verses, in that it leads us on the path of eternal life. In John 6:68, Simon Peter said to Jesus, “to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”

While there are many more that I love, I claim these four as “mine”:

1. ​"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths."  Proverbs 3:6
2. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28 (Check out my blog all about this verse.)
3. "For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’" Acts 17:28  (This verse is the theme for my song, “You Are Everything”.)
4. "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30  (I’ve kept this written on a sticky note on my desk at work for years!)

In the book of Deuteronomy, God gave instruction for how the eventual kings of Israel should handle the Words of God. (Israel was not supposed to have a king other than God, but God knew the people would insist on having one “like as all the nations” that were around them- Deuteronomy 17:15.)

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 says, "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

While we have certain verses to help carry us through this life, the Word itself is the very essence of life, and our reliance on it, and faith in it, can dictate the outcome of every situation.

Going beyond the idea of a “life verse”, I want to share with you the portion of scripture that is quite literally my “life chapter”. In my teenage years and early twenties, I suffered with severe depression and anxiety.  (I’ve been free from it for so long it is almost hard to remember- praise God!).  There were days when, overcome with a constant, unexplainable grief, thoughts of suicide invaded in my brain.  While He didn’t heal me right away, one day the Lord practically handed me Psalm 116, to sustain me until the time He would heal me.  I claim this as my life chapter, because I believe God used it to spare my life.  If you find yourself in a dark place, please let the words of Psalm 116 help put you on a different course, so you too can “walk before the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 116:9).

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I'd love to hear your life verse (or chapter)!  Please leave a comment below, and if you enjoyed this article, please share it.  Thanks!

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