Mantras. Mottos. Lyrics. Life verses.
We have all sorts of words, phrases, lines, and lyrics we use to carry us through life. They motivate. They inspire. They light a fire under us…physically, emotionally, and mentally. As people, we like to have strong, distinctive words to reference and rely on when we need that extra little push to get us going.
How we choose them is as different as the words we select. Sometimes it’s that lyric you hear in that song and it’s just the right thing at just the right time. Other times it’s a line in a speech you heard delivered with such fervor and passion you could feel it in your bones. And then sometimes, it’s a Buzzfeed quiz.
The Bible tells us that Scripture is also good for motivation, encouragement, and teaching, just like the quotes, lyrics, and mottos we hear every day.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
If all Scripture is God-inspired and good enough to teach, train, and equip us, it can certainly give us guidance in the form of a life verse. And, in this case, a verse of the year. Like many, I have a word of the year: discipline. Having a verse of the year to go along with my word, a verse that will encourage and motivate, seems like a natural fit.
While you may have people in your life – and maybe it’s you – to whom discipline comes as naturally as walking, for others (ME!), it’s a skill to be learned. A character trait to develop. Discipline is good and produces character, but it can also be painful in the moment. Because of that, I needed a verse that exerts strong faith and belief. The kind of verse that makes miracles reality. I present Ephesians 3:20-21:
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NLT)
Can you even imagine serving and believing in a God who can do more than we could ever ask or think? (The verse actually tells us we can’t!)
In a journey to develop deeper, stronger discipline in life, there will be areas we believe we can manage on our own…and probably can. There will be areas where we will ask for God His strength (like saying no to chips and queso), and He will answer. But, there are just some areas…you know the ones….the ones we really struggle to get a good hold. The areas that always seem to defeat us. We know we can ask God for help in those areas. We remind ourselves of all the Bible verses assuring us God hears us. But underneath it all, we have that doubt. The doubt that He will come through. So we don’t actually ask for strength. And we sure don’t ask for help to overcome anything that looks more difficult.
But then there’s Ephesians 3:20-21, here to remind us we are loved by a God who not only wants us to do good works and good things, but He will accomplish more within us than we could even ask or think! How cool is that! That alone makes the process of discipline not so scary. Not so daunting. But approachable. Achievable. Worth it.
Do you have a verse for your life? Or a verse for your year? If you chose a word of the year for 2021, I encourage you to find a verse to accompany it. Stumped on how to find one? You’d be amazed how helpful Google can be, as well as biblegateway.com. If you still need a little help, I’d be honored to help you find your verse of the year. Leave a comment below or email me at juliewrites5@gmail.com with your word and together we’ll find the verse for you.