Lessons from My Favourite Verses

God’s word is just awesome! It has an answer to every question I have, advice for every season I am experiencing, and an encouraging word for any situation I find myself in. When things are thick, however, sometimes the Word does not seem to be as encouraging as I expect it to be. During these times I usually default to a few of my favorite verses just to get some encouragement. As I share these verses below, I would also like to share how each one helps me realign my thinking and my relationship with God.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.“ {Psalm 34:8)

When you taste something new, what do you expect? A yummy taste, or a yucky taste? Most of the time we hope to taste something that we will enjoy, right? Well, the truth is that our walk with God does not always ‘taste’ nice. I have had many experiences that have left me with a bad taste in my mouth, asking God why He allowed them or where He was. This verse, however, is referring to God’s all-surpassing goodness. It doesn’t matter what I go through– the Lord remains good because that is His nature. If I take refuge in Him I get to experience this goodness firsthand, and in the process, I become blessed or fully satisfied in Him. My focus then shifts from myself and what I am going through to the Lord. Isn’t that awesome?

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

You know what? It’s very easy to say that I trust in God. Putting that into practice is a whole other story. When my health is failing, don’t I get impatient and start looking for ways out? When someone is working hard to make sure something does not work out for me in the right way, don’t I start looking for who I know or what I can do to sort things out? I am guilty of not trusting in God more times than I can count!

Whenever I start heading my own way and trying to sort things out without God’s help, I become irritable and angry. Can you see where I am going with this? Good! Look at the first part of the verse and read these words – PERFECT PEACE. No trust – no peace! Where does this peace come from, you ask? From steadfastly setting our hearts and minds to trust in God without wavering. From focusing on Him alone. From acknowledging that He is in control of everything. From God alone.

Let me now rewrite this verse using my own words.

The Lord will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is steadfastly fixed on Him and I trust in Him!

‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”’ (Isaiah 30:21)

How do I know what God is telling me to do? How can I be sure of God’s will for my life? How do I differentiate God’s voice from all the other voices around me? I still ask these questions even after being a Christian for so long, and most of the time there is no direct answer!

So how do we learn to hear God’s voice? Simple – by listening to what He is saying! He has spoken to us through His Word. When we read God’s Word, we learn more about his commands, His thoughts towards us, His character, and His ways. As this Word is embedded in our hearts and we begin to think more like Christ, we are able to differentiate between what pleases Him and what doesn’t. In short, we will have all the wisdom we need to make decisions and to know what God wants us to do because we are thinking like Him.

How I long to get to a place where I am thinking like Christ and doing only what He wants me to do! Do you also feel the same way? If so, pray with me.

Lord, thank you for your Word that gives us life, strength, encouragement, and wisdom. Thank You for revealing Your Word to us through the Holy Spirit. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your character and also giving us the opportunity to be conformed to your likeness. Give us the desire to know You more and to study Your Word more diligently. Give us the wisdom to apply the Word in our daily lives. Help us, Lord, to bring glory to You in everything that we do as we obey Your word. Amen!