When I was a teen, just beginning my relationship with Jesus, I was encouraged that I should have a life verse.  I should choose a verse that speaks to me and is a reflection of my faith.  At first glance, there are a lot of verses to choose from, roughly 31,102 (23,145 in the Old Testament and 7,957 in the new).  Not growing up in church, the Bible was all new.  Picking a verse was literally like picking a needle in a haystack.  My suspicion is that my pastor was encouraging that so that I would actually read God’s word, looking for what speaks to me.  I am glad he did!

It has been nearly 40 years now since I met Jesus, and I still love reading His words, looking for what speaks to me today.  I am amazed that I still find things that I never saw before.  I can truly say that when God spoke in the book of Hebrews and said,  “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”^[1]Hebrews 4:12, ESV, my own experience can adamantly agree.  So much of my faith in Jesus has been strengthened by reading His word.  When I consider that the God of all creation, took time to write to me.  To encourage me when I am feeling down, to strengthen me when I am week, to communicate His love when I am feeling unloved, to pay for my sin when the cost of it is too much for me.

There are some very great verses, that are great encouragement and offer great wisdom regarding following Jesus.  In fact, one of the really good ones, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.^[2]Psalm 119:11” gives us one of the keys to staying strong when facing temptation and avoiding sin.   Have you ever been told “I love you” and those words made your heart flutter, and for days you replayed those words over and over, smiling and thinking of the one who said them.  Storing up God’s word in your heart helps keep your focus on Him.

As a teen I did discover a verse that seemed to jump off the page to me, and still does to this very day.  In Psalm 37, God starts off by telling me not to worry about people who do evil, and definitely dont be envious of them.  He then goes on to trust Him and make faithfulness a part of my life (befriend it!).  Then in verse 4, He says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.^[3]Psalm 37:4 ESV”  Thats my verse!  At first reading I thought, “Wow! God is going to give me my every desire!”, then I kept reading and my perception of that verse changed, and my life experience over the years has confirmed to me what I draw from that verse.  It is this, when my delight is in God then my desires shift, they stop being about me, what I want, what I deserve, what I can get and my desires begin to be about others, about how I can help those around me who are hurting, lonely, struggling to find their way.  My desires become to know God more deeply, a hunger for Him.  A desire to see His kingdom come.  A desire to see people know Him the way I do.  In a nutshell when I am delighting in God, my hearts desire is more of Him.

A little further down it says “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.^[4]Psalm 37:23-24 ESV”  I like that verse as well, it says when I delight in God’s way, I can avoid the faceplant! God’s got me!

I encourage you to read Psalm 37.  It has been a rock of my faith and God still stirs my heart when I read those verses.

What about you, do you have a verse that seems to just stick with you?  I encourage you to open your Bible, read God’s word.  Go on a treasure hunt!

One final thought . . .  I like the way Job put it “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.^[5]Job 23:12 ESV”