Three keys to finding a life verse & applying it to your life
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Three keys to finding a life verse & applying it to your life
Do you have a Scripture you call your life verse?
It has occurred to me that Psalm 73.26 is my life verse (or at least one of several).
This is something I had heard others talk about but never understood the need for, myself. Or, maybe there were so many favorite verses I couldn’t narrow it down to one (thus, my need for several).
While recording some thoughts in my devotional planner, I turned to a page with the heading My Life Verse(s). Right then, I prayed, “Lord, help me. Remind me of the Bible verses that have been especially dear to me over the course of my life. I want to define my life verse—or verses.”
#1 - Key to finding a life verse & applying it to your life
Ask the Lord to help you.
When I breathed those brief words, I can't say I was fully focused on praying and believing God would, in fact, reveal a verse to me. As you'll soon see, He did hear my humble prayer and give direction.
If you are interested in finding a life verse, I suggest you take time to simply ask God to lead you to any verses He may have used to speak to your heart in the past.
#2 – Key to finding a life verse & applying it to your life
Go back to any notes, file documents, or journal entries you may have that reveal Bible verses which have impacted you.
So, after sitting there a few moments, I realized I needed to take action to resurrect any memory of those Scriptures. That morning, I went to my bookshelves and started thumbing through the journals and notebooks I’d kept over the years.
Inside those pages, I had recorded devotional notes, Scriptures that spoke to me, and words of encouragement or direction given to me by others. It didn’t take long before I came across my own notes written on Psalm 73.26. I remembered the season of life I was in, at the time, and how the words and tone of this passage encouraged me.
My initial affection for this Psalm of Asaph developed during my years in music ministry. Recognized as “chief” music minister during King David’s reign, the Asaph Psalms often appeal to worship leaders and musicians (1 Chron. 15.4-5a).
Before declaring this a life verse, though, I wanted to dig deeper into its meaning. I needed to know this potential life verse held depth and meaning beyond that season in my life as a worship leader.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
#3 – Key to finding a life verse & applying it to your life
When you find a potential life verse, do a word study of that Scripture or passage.* This will help you to gain understanding of the meaning and application of the verse to your life.
Then, I did a word study on Psalm 73.26. Based on that study, here is my interpretation.
“My flesh [my body, and even my blood relatives] and my heart [my mind and understanding] may fail [may consume me or come to an end] but God is the strength [the rock] of my heart [my mind and understanding] and my portion [my part, my territory, my inheritance] forever.”
As I meditated on those words, the Lord helped me recall the many failings of my flesh over the years. Because I’m human, I also thought of those who have failed me (or those on whom I may have depended a little too much).
God reminded me that my mind and understanding are never enough—but I know the One who is enough. For He is my Rock. He is my forever inheritance. Hallelujah.
These three simple steps helped me to confirm that Psalm 73.26 was worthy of being listed under the heading My Life Verse(s) in my planner. Since then, I’ve added a few more verses there, as well.
When I took that notebook off my bookshelf and read the notes I’d written on Psalm 73.26 many years ago, tears began to roll down my cheeks. It was as if I felt what the Psalmist may have been feeling when he penned that Psalm.
That, my friend, is why we refer to it as the living Word of God.
*If you need help with how to do a word study, check out this post at themodernmary.com for: 10 STEPS TO DOING A BIBLE WORD STUDY. I often use Blue Letter Bible referenced in the post for a quick word study.