I am probably the most unlikely candidate to write an article about which bible verses have inspired me through my life. I am the proverbial “born to lose, bound to win” type of story but God truly has a sense of humor and I am a living example of that. Born in a small town in Oregon, addicted to drugs and alcohol as a teenager, a product of a broken family, I am a testimony of the all consuming love and patience that God has with a person.
Throughout my life, there have been certain inspiring bible verses that have seen me through both some good times and some bad times. They have helped me press on when nothing else has worked. I hope that as you read how these bible verses have impacted my life you too will find hope and inspiration for your life as well.
Bible Verses Inspired me to go on after the death of my father.
The first instance I recall where God has used bible verses to inspire me and give me hope was shortly after I had become a believer in Jesus. As I mentioned I was the product of a broken home and my father was not playing a large role in my life. I would see him twice a year on Christmas and my birthday. I remember the dreary morning in march when I was called into the office in High School and told that there was a family emergency and I needed to go home. I drove home and found out that my father had been killed in an auto accident. I was devastated. The last conversation my father and I had was not what you would call cordial. I was torn up, couldn’t sleep, and wept bitterly. It was then that I read in John 11:35 the shortest verse in the Bible. “Jesus wept.” Jesus had arrived at Mary and Martha’s home and had found out that their brother Lazarus had died. Jesus wept with them. It was at that point that I realized that Jesus was also weeping with me. It brought me great comfort to know that He was there with me and understood the pain I was going through. This bible verse was very inspirational to me because I knew I was not alone in my grief.
I was inspired by Bible verses to enter into the ministry.
The next instance I recall is when I was just finishing High School and I was wondering what I was going to do with my life. God had been very good to me and I wanted my life to count for something but I was also struggling with the fact that I was by no means perfect. Then I read in John 21:15-17 where Jesus specifically goes and finds Peter after His resurrection and let’s Peter know that He still loves him and wants to use him even though Peter had denied Jesus 3 times. He asked Peter 3 times, which is the same number of times that Peter denied Jesus, “Peter do you love me?”. It was at this point that I realized that it wasn’t about how perfect you were or how much you had it all together, but it was about whether or not you loved Jesus. Those bible verses were what inspired me to enter into the ministry.
A Southern Baptist Pastor gave me an inspirational bible verse to heal from divorce.
Many years later I found myself once again in desperate need for an inspirational bible verses. After 16 years of marriage my family went through the pain and tragedy of divorce. I found myself angry, disillusioned, bitter and quite frankly, told Jesus to take a long walk on a short pier. (I forgot He walked on water!) It was at this time that God, in His infinite sense of humor, sent a Southern Baptist Pastor to reach out to a broken Pentecostal preacher. He gave me the bible verse that has inspired me in my ministry today and has become my life verse. Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This bible verse inspired me to carry on. That somehow that even the pain of divorce had a purpose. Since that time because I know intimately how painful and tragic divorce is, I have been able to reach out to people that have gone through what I have gone through and help them heal and grow.
I had a Bible verse leap off the page and inspire me to return to ministry.
A couple of years after that, I was struggling with the idea of returning to ministry. I was not sure that I was even qualified anymore since I had went through divorce. I knew that a majority of churches feel that divorce disqualifies a man to be in leadership. It was during this time that I had one of those epiphany moments where a bible verse just leaps off the page at you and you know it is God speaking directly to you. I was reading Romans chapter 11 and in verse 29 it reads “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” God knew when He called me and gifted me almost 20 years earlier that I would go through divorce and yet He still chose to call and gift me. That calling and gifting had not been taken away. It had not been revoked. This bible verse inspired me to once again make myself available to be used in pastoral ministry. However it was not as easy as just getting a verse as you will see.
The Bible Verse that inspired me to press on after receiving over 180 rejection letters.
Over the next 8 years I put out hundreds of resume’s. Some churches would not even respond and others would nicely but obviously say in not so many words “You are not qualified”. I had a double whammy going against me. I was divorced and I did not have a wife. Some feel, as I explained, that divorce disqualifies a man for leadership, and others were looking for a husband and wife team. You know, the old tradition of the wife playing piano, working in Sunday School with the children, and of course leading the women’s ministry yet paying her nothing. It is the two for one deal. Well after a few years I started to keep all the rejection letters. They became sort of a macabre badge of honor testifying to my desire to be faithful. That is where the final inspirational bible verse that I am going to share with you comes in. In Luke’s Gospel chapter 19 and verse 7 Jesus said that we should be faithful in the little things and God would give us more. I was being faithful in being my kids dad, raising 3 teenagers, I was being faithful to be a good employee, and I was being faithful to continue to send out resume’s even in the face of adversity. From 2006 to 2010 I received 186 rejection letters. But in May of 2010 I was asked to become the pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Pine Haven Wyoming and was appointed to that position in July. God truly does honor His word and He is faithful to see it accomplished.
Today we have a small yet loving and growing church body here in Pine Haven. I have a website that gets thousands of visitors every month, and numerous people are coming to know Jesus and being healed from the pains and trials that they have went through in life and it is all because God sent my direction bible verses that inspired.
Blessings to you all!
Pastor Duke Taber
I would like to invite you to see the 14 lists of Bible verses arranged by topic that I have on my website.
All scripture references were from the New King James Version except as noted.