by Jeffrey Bush
What do you do when you’re discouraged? How do you get over feeling lonely? What thoughts flood your heart when you feel like quitting? We all have our ways of trudging through the difficult moments of life (side note that during these moments, don’t make a big decision — whether to leave, move or say something via phone, in person, text or post. Reacting in discouraging moments usually result in regret and hurt.). Although we might differ on activities or hobbies we can use to lift us in hard times, we all agree that we need God’s help. I want to recommend that you look for and cling to one or more Bible verses as a lifeline to get you through a storm. I’m not saying to literally pull out the Bible when you’re sad, mad, or discouraged, rather reach within to a verse that can life-flight you out of the situation. Allow me to share mine as an example.
Philippians 1:6 has been my life verse, my theme and hope through many times and stages of life. The verse teaches that God started something in me the moment He saved me, and that He will faithfully continue it until He takes me out of this world. You know the principle, and might even know the verse by heart, but this verse has led me through foggy days in which I could not see the path in front of me. When I didn’t think I could make it out of high school because of bad grades, I remembered God’s promise that He had begun and would finish His work in me. I didn’t know if I could find someone to marry (I think my wife may have accepted me as a project lol). I remember thinking I may never make it out of college (many of us can probably fit the bill for dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and other learning abilities.). I was unsure if I could raise support to get to Argentina. I didn’t think I could learn a language. I was nervous to start a church or believe God could use me to see others saved and His work advance where I was serving. Yet every time I was unsure, God always showed up! Philippians 1:6 gave me the boost to continue, the confidence to know it would work out and the hope to know God would not abandon me.
So what is your lifeline? What one or two verses can you pull out and know you can use in difficult times of life? What verse can you personalize and know is God’s promise for you? The Bible is mere theory unless you allow it to be the “power that worketh” in you (Ephesians 3:20). You may remember how Pilgrim, the main character in Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress, was pinned down by Apollion and felt like he was at his end. At the moment he thought it was over, he remembered the scroll he had within. It was not until he pulled it out that he was freed from the grips of the evil Apollion. And so it is with us, we are held down by discouragement and difficulties in our lives. It is at the moment that we reach within to that verse, that truth and that God-given promise we can once again bounce back up instead of giving up. In theory, we have the knowledge, but our issue is application of that knowledge. That gap between knowing and applying is wider than the Grand Canyon. Hide God’s Word in your heart so you will not sin against Him (in word, deed or thought). You don’t have to give up, for you have a lifeline. Stop for a moment. What is your lifeline verse? Nail it down and hold it tight so the next time Apollion comes to pin you down, you can obtain the victory God has for His children!