Here is a collection of Scriptures that have touched my heart, comforted me, uplifted me, guided and encouraged me at different times in my life.
Every time I read the Bible all of the above happens to some degree but there are some stand out verses that I want to record that I hope has a similar effect on someone else that reads them. Beneath each Scripture I have written how it’s been relevant to me personally. I am no theologian, I am merely sharing based on my life experiences.
For me, the written Word of God – (the Bible) is MY final authority, my peace, my comfort and my strength. Without it I wouldnt know where to turn. Other humans don’t always cut it – they do not have the wisdom, grace, love, justice and discernment that Jesus’s words do. Humans are flawed beyond measure, we have our own prejudices, hidden agendas, alteria motives, pride and selfishness that stands in the way of giving flawless guidance and advice.
So as a Christian I turn to the one perfect person who accepts and loves me unconditionally when I seek anything. It’s when I do this and see what He has to say about a particular subject, how He uplifts, corrects, brings peace and contentment – that I get perfect clarity.
▪️▪️▪️
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
▪️ The Lord continually lead me to these verses (mainly the first one) when I was single and waiting to meet the right man. As many women do I would get discouraged and anxious about waiting, sometimes doubting that any decent men with integrity even existed anymore. Reading this verse repeatedly gave me the comfort and peace I needed to trust Him, and that he had it all under control. He really did have a plan and future for me, and it was fulfilling, full of joy and potential…I just had to trust. It took me a while to accept this completely but once I did I was at peace. He has a life like this for us all if only we would accept Him, wait on Him, have faith In Him and listen.
▪️▪️▪️
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4:18 NIV
▪️ This verse was pressed upon my heart and also Phil’s after we met in the early days of our courtship (dating). This verse even came to me repeatedly during the day when I was at home, at the gym or shops just going about my day. I committed my relationship with Phil to the Lord immediately after I re met him (see my Introducing Myself tab for story) and asked for confirmation that he was the person God had chosen for me, the man I’d be waiting for. I was tired of frivolous relationships that were empty and based on the wrong things from years prior and so desperately wanted certainty.
With Phil there was no fear whatsoever. People may get confused when I say that, thinking “why on earth would you be scared for?” just after meeting someone you like. However how we fear can be subtle, it can be a niggling in the back of your mind. A consistent uncertainty. We’ve all had it in our lives and I believe many women experience it when they meet or start dating a man. Thoughts start circulating; “Could he be the one? Could I see myself with this person long term and permanently? Will he accept me unconditionally? Will he be faithful? Does he have a wandering eye? Am I someone he would settle down with? Does he have everything I need and want in a mate? Will he provide for me? Will he want to have children and be a decent family man?”
Far out the thoughts, doubts and questions we ask ourselves have been or are endless. This is anxiety. This is uncertainty. This is fear. And it can often be constant, comes and gos in intervals or stays around for good. It’s only natural we question such a commitment like a close relationship – it’s wise to. However I’m referring to obsessive and repetitive questioning. I did it many times in other relationships before I met Phil as more often than not I was already searching and looking for a weakness or an escape plan just as the relationship was beginning. This was fear. It just took me years to identify it.
With Phil I felt none of the above and was not uncertain. I got no niggling sensations of nervousness and doubt, no constant questioning plaguing my mind and making me feel insecure. For someone who used to overthink everything there was total peace and stillness and I was amazed! I could not manufacture this myself, it could only be Gods peace. All I kept experiencing was a quietness within myself. And this verse coming to me repeatedly. I had to google it to find out where it was in the Bible so I coul read it, and got a revelation about its relevance to me and meeting Phil. Perfect love as Christ ordained has no fear and has none of these anxieties I had experienced previously. Perfect love removes that. Christ in his providence and choice of life partner for me had removed any baggage of confused and insecure thoughts, any apprehension and uneasiness. This is how I knew what love entailed and what it meant. This also directly relates to how Christ loves us.
▪️▪️▪️
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:13-16 NIV
▪️ Firstly the context of this verse is about the incredible nature of our physical bodies. By far the human body is the most complex and unique organism in the world, and that complexity and uniqueness speaks volumes about the mind of its Creator.
Secondly, this verse gives an indication of our value from God’s perspective. He designed us. Much care and love is involved in the creation of each human being. It was upon reading these verses above that bought me to the realisation and cemented in my mind that God loves me intimately and personally, that he put thought into me, that my very being has immense worth in His eyes. It’s impossible to deny the depth and intimacy that comes from these verses! This how he values His creation. We are his creation and his workmanship.
▪️▪️▪️
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:17-18 NIV
▪️ God lead me to this verse on a few occasions in my past when I was down in the dumps, and was going through bouts of discouragement, great sadness or feeling alone. This scripture really ministered to me at these times, uplifting my spirit and comforting me greatly that the Lord was close to me when I was in that emotional state.
▪️▪️▪️
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16 NIV
▪️ God has shown me several times that the presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, not only in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man but also in the sense that our good deeds must be evident for all to see. He’s instructed me not to hide or be ashamed of this light within me (His Spirit) and to openly profess and acknowledge my beliefs in Him to others. I don’t go preaching at people however I am willing to let anyone know the reason for my joy and zest for life, who has helped me in times of need, who has shaped me into the persons I am today 🙏🏼
▪️▪️▪️
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV
▪️ I actually had this verse printed on the inside of our wedding invitations as it holds so much truth and is so relevant to a marriage or friendship involving/centring Christ in it. This passage from Ecclesiastes illustrates the importance of Christian companionship, meaning 2 Christians that are bound together in Christ are stronger than the individuals themselves. Phil and I believe that Christian marriage is about more than the union of one man and one woman. The Bible teaches us that God performs a miracle in our marriage, uniting us together in a covenant relationship with Him as one. The cord of three strands is a symbol of that sacred union created on your wedding day. A rope woven from two strands is so easily unravelled that its disintegration is automatic. Three strands is extremely difficult to break or come apart.
I found this explanation of the 3 cord strand on a site called: spirituallyunequalmarriage.com – and I have quoted below:
The illustration of the three-stranded cord though makes even more sense when you speak to a rope maker. They will tell you that this is the strongest cord you can make because all three strands are touching each other. If you add more strands, the rope becomes thicker but not necessarily stronger because not all the strands are touching at the same time.
If one or even two of the strands becomes frayed or broken, the cord will remain intact as long as the third strand does not break. This gives time for the other strands to be mended. God works in this way in our marriages (and any friendship we are part of).
Two is better than one, but three is almost unbreakable. The triple-braided cord reflects the central image of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This verse is not only referring to a husband and wife relationship but is also trying to emphasize the importance of human relationships amidst our work or social as opposed to individualism or isolation. I have pondered over this verse many times and found it is full of such wisdom…but Solomon did write it so did anything he wrote lack wisdom? 🙏🏼😊
▪️▪️▪️
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
▪️ This verse has resounded with me more than once about the personal truth that Christ loves me. I’ve struggled at times to grasp that Jesus Christ does love me individually and personally. I know from reading his Word that he loves – he created love and embodies that unlike anything else. However for it to permeate my mind has taken many years, and God showing me time and time again through blessing me and answering prayers that he cares so much about me, that he loves me. When God gave me Phil as a husband, that was one huge indication that he loved me. It’s like I’ve needed evidence of his love to believe it over the years. At times I’ve been blind to it? I feel almost embarrassed to admit that but it’s true.
Christ has spared me from a lot of potential heartache and irreversible destruction in my life, and this is another huge indication of his love for me. It’s not until we meditate on a verse like this, and sit and think about where we have come from in our past – how far He has brought us and carried us, do we realise that he is a personal loving God to each of us. Nothing we’ve done or how we have been in the past can separate His love from us. This is beyond comforting, and even writing this I’m getting more of a humbling realisation of it.
These verses emphasise the magnitude and almost unfathomable depth of His love for us! 💙
Life as a Wildflower 