Day 6- Passages that have Impacted/Encouraged Me

 I have to try really hard not to begin these posts with "so". Apparently, that is my go to starter word...which is odd but true. I skipped yesterday due to the cold that was taking each member of our house captive one by one. Why is it never all at once? Sometimes this feels it would be easier than this long, drawn out affair we have been experiencing. Our youngest has had a fever for the past two days and while at first she handled it like a champ she, like all of us, only had so much to give before she just decided the whole being sick things sucks and is now over it. Anyway, I skipped yesterday and considered skipping today as well but then I felt like I wasn't really challenging myself then. So this might be another lighter post but the point was for me to write every day not write something groundbreaking every day (or ever!).

So, when I looked at my list of things one that stuck out to me was Bible verses that have impacted me. I think that even if you aren't a reader of the Bible you will find here Goodness and encouragement...as it is, in my belief, the Word of God and He is Good...so it goes to follow that His words are also good. 

First up- Psalm 45:11 "Let the king be enthralled by your beauty, honour him for he is your lord."

Now, you may be reading this and think...where the heck are you going with this? It is a bit of an odd verse to be fair and my reason for picking it has a story. I think this verse was one of the first times I felt God personally speak to me through the Bible. Did what I hear from God come completely out of context for the verse? 100%. Did I know or understand that at the time? No. While I fully believe that the context of a verse is super important this was a verse that spoke to me as a young teenager when I was really struggling with my physical appearance and growing in my faith. I remember praying and telling God how I felt about how I i looked and then I felt less to this verse. What this verse said to me at that time (which I believe is truth even if not a truth that can be taken from this verse if looking at it in context) was that God found me beautiful and that He was the one I should be focusing on honouring and pleasing. God was/is enthralled with me, loves me as I am, created me intentionally! That verse gave me comfort...that God was enthralled with me...He thought I was beautiful. And so I could hold onto that. Sure, maybe to others I was ugly, maybe to myself I was ugly but the King of Kings...the Most High God thought I (little ol' me) was beautiful...so much that He was enthralled. I needed this at the time. It didn't puff up my head, it allowed me to find some balance. It reminded me I was loved. So while I probably wouldn't use this verse now as an example of a verse that shows us how God loves us/views us it really impacted me at the time. 

Luke 10:19 - "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

This verse is one that has given me great comfort over the years and was one that was specifically "given" to Rob/me before we left for the DR Congo the summer we got engaged. Whenever zi feel powerless this is a verse that reminds me that in Christ I have great power. Not a power to necessarily avoid physical or emotional pain but that I cannot be eternally harmed because my name is written in heaven... because Christ speaks over me. I dunno...I think that's pretty amazing. 

Lamentations 3:22 - "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning; 

 great is your faithfulness. 

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, 

 therefore I will hope in him.” "

This is one that I have found particularly encouraging during motherhood, especially in the darker days of motherhood when the guilt is heavy, the feelings of not being enough are strong and my strength is failing. It's a reminder that God's mercy for me is never-ending. It will literally never run out. I can make the same mistakes over and over as I try to figure out how to parent and still his mercy remains. Plus, the resources I tap into in Him will never run dry...my portion is eternal and everlasting. How awesome is that? It means that even when I'm run dry I have access to a wellspring that never does. I love that so much. It gives hope to my parenting journey...to my human journey. His mercy for me as a wife, friend, daughter is endless. No matter how many mistakes I make in any of the areas He is Faithful (in His love, in His mercy, in His Goodness, in His Justness...) and He is hope.

Mark 9:24- "Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'"

I feel like this is my constant prayer. I know deep down I believe. My head knows...my gut knows but there are times when my belief falls short. When I i don't really believe such a big thing can be possible and then I cry out in the same words as this boy's distraught father, "Help me overcome my unbelief!"

John 4:7-26- For some reason I remember focusing on this passage in my class on Luke but obviously this passage is not in Luke. This passage particularly stood out to me as I began my studying of counselling and was trying to figure out my approach. This passage reminded me the importance of being seen/seeing, of focusing on truth and not getting distracted by the argument and the importance of asking questions. It was a passage that just helped me frame how I wanted to approach counselling. Maybe normally I would be able to explain this better. But there it is!

Colossians 1:17- "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together."

I've loved this verse for quite some time purely for the fact that it reminds me that He holds me together when I feel I'm falling apart. I wrote about this a couple of years ago on Instagram and so here is a quote from what I wrote, "So often when we feel ourselves breaking apart we try to hold ourselves together on our own, forgetting that the One who knit us together in our mother's womb is there for us in each and every moment...holding everything together. Even when it might feel as though it's falling apart around us." He came before ALL things, He created ALL things and I can trust Him to hold all those things together. That things will never truly unravel because He has them...He has ME specifically...He has you specifically.

Those are some verses that have spoken to me over the years, in flipping through my Bible I came across many more but those were the ones that specifically came to mind and I was looking for. I hope that they encouraged you too...or reminded you of passages that have encourages you or impacted you too!

I hope to be back to posting more consistently earlier in the day but such is the life of this Mom with sick kids! See you all tomorrow!