Verses for the discouraged

22
Aug
If I take into account the dream this morning that left me in a cold sweat, it seems I was carrying a lot more anxiety than I thought I was.  Spiritually, I have been struggling for quite some time on a number of fronts, and it just seemed I was getting nowhere.  Somewhere along the line, I stopped reading the Word- funny how that happens, as that's probably the worst thing to do.

I finally picked up the Bible this morning.  Going back to my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan wasn't going to cut it given the amount of time I skipped, so I went to Colossians.  Nothing like reading through an epistle to get back in the habit, again.  When I did, Colossians 1:11-13 really stuck out to me  Power when I feel powerless. Strength and might when I feel weak.  Paul's prayer for the Colossians is easily one I can pray for myself.  It also reminded me of Philippians 4:4-7:

The verses are really quite similar. Take a look (color-coded for your convenience):


Combining these verses, God gives strength and power to endure with joy.  We may rejoice because the Lord is at hand and has delivered us from darkness.  God has done so much for us.  We are drawn into closeness with Christ and are given peace with God.  We therefore can be at peace with our circumstances and respond in thanksgiving.

What comforting promises!  What verse(s) has/ have encouraged you in a time of spiritual drought? 

Comments (4)

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Those are awesome verses and have lifted me in times of lowness. My favorite is the 23rd Psalm. It covers all things in our lives, the ups the downs and the in betweens. I studied all of it word by word and translated all the words in the process. In the end, I found that we will be required by God to face difficult times, in those tough times we get to trust the flesh or trust the Father, He gives us the free will. When we trust His promise over our lives, we witness the super natural power that only the God of the cosmos has over His creation.

Good for you for picking up His word. All our writings should point to that, I'm takin' notes. Thanks.
1 reply · active 704 weeks ago
Ah, yes, Psalm 23 is classic. My favorite part? "He makes me lie down..." Seems odd at first that we are "made" to lie down, but on review, it actually makes perfect sense. Letting go and experiencing rest is as much a part of "running the race" as anything. And when at rest, we can see and experience that supernatural power that you're talking about- because we've stopped trying to do it on our own.
Those are awesome. I love the visual links! As a small group, we are memorizing Philippians 4:7, but I might need to expand to include verses 4-6.

What is giving me pause for thought these days is Isaiah 30:18, which is the first memory verse in Cythia Heald's _Becoming a Woman of Grace._

"Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you and therefore the Lord exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for the Lord." (I don't think this is an NIV version).

It gives me a picture of a parent holding a child while they flail away in the middle of a temper tantrum waiting patiently to re-establish the relationship once the child calms down. And of course, I'm the child having a temper tantrum.
1 reply · active 704 weeks ago
What a great image you're painting. Somehow kicking and screaming sometimes seems like the most "logical" course of action to my small mind, but God knows better. It is almost as if our Heavenly Father is patiently telling us, "My beloved, are you done yet? I'm going to wait right here for you to calm down so I can show you my graciousness and mercy."

That Philippians 4 passage is one of my favorites. In fact, in a past post focused on peace as an active agent rather than a passive feeling.

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