Hope - Just one Verse!

In the battle with depression, anxiety, and fear, my first step in healing was/is in feeding, clinging to the Word of God.  I would reading over and over one single verse on a 3x5 card for days, weeks, months…until it was sown deeply into my soul, not as an act of memorization, but as survival!  

Don't be overwhelmed or condemned by what you don't know!  I was paralyzed by what I thought I should already know in Scripture when I was first diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety.  Thank God he used a woman to help me trust in just one verse.  The verse was Psalm 138:8,

"The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me."

Just be over joyed at the simplicity of God meeting you with one verse at a time!  It's not about volume when you are in despair...it's about hope.  I’m telling you, we can not survive without His Word!  Jesus said in John 1:1-5:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The Creator of the Universe embodies the Word of God!  He promises here that we will not be overcome by the darkness, when He is on the scene!  So even if it feels dark for a long time, "put your hope in God," as David said in Psalm  43:5,

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God;  for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God."

And His Word says that change comes by being in the Word in John 17:17,

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Finally, the Word tells us in Romans 8:11

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

My heart is racing right now, that’s how exciting and real this is to me!  I have learned that “coasting” does not work.  I need His Word daily.  I need to be nourished by it, not check it off my list.  He has recalls precious verses to me in times of present need because He had sown them deep in my soul in times of past need.  The truth is, every hour we have need!  I can’t be more passionate about How God speaks to us, heals us, and ministers to all of us through His Word.  Whew!  I need to chill and just let this unfold!!!!!

 Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Proverb 4:21-22 "Don't lose sight of MY Words, Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning."

And of course,  Isaiah 55:10-11,  “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.¹¹ It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it." 

And a favorite of mine, Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my Word like fire declares the Lord, like a hammer that pulverizes rock!”

OK, so last little bit here.  How do we win?  The battle is relentless it seems.  And we often see it played out in PEOPLE, ACCIDENTS, ILLNESS, REBELLION, HURT!  The physical realm. But there is so much more going on.  The HEAVENLY REALM!!!  We were not meant to fight alone or even understand everything.   But I know that God tells us that NO WEAPON will defeat us, and interestingly the "tongue" is part of the battle here used for bad or for good.

Isaiah 54:17
    ^”No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
         And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD. “

I take this verse and speak it out loud.  That ultimately NO WEAPON  of the enemy (tongue, illness, accident...) will win!  In the end, our heritage as children of God, and His righteousness is our vindication for all eternity!  Sometimes trials are allowed by God and I am not declaring every hardship is the enemy.  But I'm betting "giving up" is of the enemy!  So then Paul explains things a bit!

2 Corinthians 10

^”For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

I used this verse so often back when I struggled for the transformation of my mind!  The compulsive, paranoid, fearful, self-hating cycle of thoughts that would crash on me like the ocean waves all day long, until with God's powerful Word, the tide began to go out!  Oh...that soft smooth sand with little flickers of crab life scattering about...new life, new thinking!

I also learned that speaking out praise was truly a powerful weapon!  Oh, how our Maker loves to hear our praise!  I'm telling you, when my kids say "I love you mommy," it breathes life into me!  Just multiply that times infinity and know that God loves to hear that from us!  The "weapon connection" is in this next verse:

Psalm 149

  "Let them praise his name with dancing
       and make music to him with tambourine and harp...

 ⁶ May the praise of God be in their mouths

       and a double-edged sword in their hands,”

There are many verses detailing how faith and speaking out truth were the weapons, not strength or willpower!  Just see Hebrews 11 for the many people of faith.  But also notice at the end of the chapter, they did not all receive what they thought...their victory was on the side of eternity.  We can never forget that!  God is outside of time and space, and SO IS OUR DESTINY AS  HIS CHILDREN!

But what a comfort found in this next verse. "The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you...He drives out the enemy before you;  He cries out, "Destroy them!"

Deuteronomy 33:25-27
 “May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze;
      may you be secure all your days.”

 ²⁶ “There is no one like the God of Israel.
     He rides across the heavens to help you,
      across the skies in majestic splendor.
 ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge,
      and his everlasting arms are under you.
   He drives out the enemy before you;
      he cries out, ‘Destroy them!”

I often need to slow down and surrender, give up trying to control, giving up trying to map it out.  God has been walking me through that again, even now.  When the sweetness of surrender met with faith washes over me, "the tide begins to go out"  and peace begins to settle in.  What a relief!  And the Word of God is there for me to cling to and speak out, not always understanding, but KNOWING.  Then Psalm 51:15 "Unseal my lips that I may sing your praise!"  David's cry after asking for and receiving forgiveness.

I don't know, was I just rambling here?  I can't wrap my arms around it!  But, I love how God carries us through the journey, past, present and future.  Be blessed today!  Pick just one verse and cling to the promise of it!

"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
Hebrews 4:16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QDnVD7gu5Y