The Bible: Find God’s Inspirational Bible Verses through Education
IN THE BEGINNING, we’re introduced to the Word of God through the Bible and our church. As children, we’re taught the simple religious philosophy that states:
If we’re good, we’ll be rewarded; If we accept God and Jesus Christ into our lives, we’ll be shielded from all the bad things in life; and If we give love, we’ll receive love in return.
Nevertheless, as we progress in life, we discover that life isn’t as simple as we were taught to believe. While it’s true that many times we’re rewarded for our good deeds, there are those times when our good deeds only receive acknowledgments and sometimes, these deeds go unnoticed altogether. Also, it’s a well-known fact that bad things happen to good people more often than we care to know. And how many times have we found that we were disliked in spite of the fact that we were filled with heartfelt love for someone?
Yet every morning we wake up, we know that it’s because of the grace of someone or some force other than ourselves that we’re witnessing another day. We’re able to rise every day only if that supreme force allows us to do so. And yes, we can control some aspects of our physical development, but it’s clear that there has to be another life force that directs the overall intricate operations of the human body. We can eat the proper foods and perform the appropriate exercises to assist with maintaining good health, but none of us are able to reach inside our bodies and keep the mechanics of all our vital organs and bodily functions running smoothly. What about the rising and setting of the sun each day, or the rain that falls from the heavens above? That we have no power to perform these miraculous feats makes it obvious that we make no contribution in this department either. In these referenced instances, we have little or no direct input in the explicit operations necessary to complete the complex functions involved. Indeed, if we had to depend on our own feeble efforts, this world (with us in it), would collapse and become totally useless because we have little control over the very foundations of our livelihood! Instead, we take it for granted that all of these functions will occur automatically.
So we must conclude there is a higher power involved in the daily operations of this world and in our individual lives. The identity of this higher power is the trinity that forms the Godhead consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. God, the Father of the entire human race, is the leader of this trinity and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the one and only way to our Father. The Holy Ghost is the benevolent, powerful spirit God bestows upon all His children to guide us through our daily lives. The Bible states unequivocally that God’s intentions for his children are nothing less than to provide the finest of everything He has to offer: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Corinthians 2:9, KJV.
Clearly, something has gone wrong because instead of living in a world where morality and prosperity abounds, we live in a world that’s slowly rotting away at its core. Unfortunately, our nature is not to stop and take notice of how appalling things are until our own lives are blighted with adversity. In this article, I’ll be using portions of my life as an example to express what I believe is not only a problem that refers to me, but is an impediment that exists worldwide as well.
Until four years ago, I was riding high in a life where everything was going my way. Up to that point, I’d lived a blessed life with a roof over my head, clothes on my back and plenty of food in my stomach. In fact, I had an abundance of everything and wanted for nothing. Then suddenly, my world began to crumble bit by bit until I finally ended up in a devastating position I never would’ve believed could envelop me. I, who had begun to feel special and chosen for an eminent role in life, was suddenly brought down to a level that forced me to feel the pain of not having the cream of the crop at my fingertips.
After years of scratching my head trying to figure out precisely why I’m going through this grueling time in my life, it occurred to me that perhaps I should take an in-depth look into the subject of God and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve always been in my life, you understand. So much so that I became adept at paraphrasing the Bible verses that applied to my life and other people’s lives so that solutions could be obtained and fitted neatly into a package that helped us sleep peacefully at night. But because I’d never faced any real trials or tribulations, I never knew if what I said I believed in was actually the truth. The Bible is an eloquently written piece of literature that’s rich with Bible verses to inspire that can be pleasing to the ear if we pick and choose the verses we like best. But we must be reminded that the majority of the verses that fill this masterful book were inspired by people who were caught in the vice-like grip of life’s most profound miseries. They were spouting out gut-wrenching prayers to our Father that begged for the salvation of their very existence. But I was unable to comprehend the gravity of their cries because my life in no way resembled anything like what they’d gone through.
So now I’m taking the desperate chance of believing that the reason why I’m in this futile position is because our Father wants me to connect with Him and discover the true purpose of my life . . . for real. Not just in words, but in deeds. I’m talking about going through the devastating ups and downs that life can bring us and seeking our Father for explanations and help through these most trying times. I’m speaking of getting to know our Father up above in the same way we know our parents, family members and friends. This will require that I study God’s Word again from beginning to end (I say again because I’ve read the entire Bible at least 20 times during my lifetime), this time to try and find out the reason for my seemingly inescapable predicament.
The Education Process
At some point in time, we must face up to the fact that there is a God and He has designs on each and every life that walks on this earth . . . whether we believe this to be a fact or not. Operations go wrong because mistakes are made and serious, life-threatening mistakes have been made. This is where the learning process begins.
I start by asking as Job did: “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.” Job 6:24, KJV. I then move on to Ecclesiastes which teaches us that events happen because “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: . . .” Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV. It goes on to say in Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” The moral of the story is no matter what kind of people we are or what kind of life we’re living, certain unfavorable events and situations will come upon all of us at the time appointed by our Father. These events will be specific to each person but rest assured, we’ll all have crosses to bear at some point in our lives. Why? Because unfortunately, the only time we’ll even consider turning to our Father is when we’re at the lowest points in our lives.
Suffering is Necessary
One of the reasons why there must be suffering in our lives is because we’ve gotten our priorities mixed up and in so doing, we’re guilty of breaking two fundamental laws of God that are pertinent to our basic existence. First, for the most part, God takes a back seat to practically everything in our lives and we’ve reached a point where this can no longer be allowed. “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.” St. Matthew 6:31 – 33, KJV. In other words, instead of being overly concerned with how we’re going to live and get through each day, or wasting precious time and energy worrying about our situation, we should focus first and foremost on seeking our Father and His Kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ and all our needs will be met automatically.
Second, since the beginning of time, the human race has always suffered from the affliction called amnesia. Either we know God while we’re in the midst of trouble and then forget Him when He brings us to safety or, if we’re fortunate to experience prosperity for the majority of our lives, maybe we’ll maintain a superficial relationship with Him (like maybe go to church every Sunday but leave Him out of our lives the rest of the week). Or we tend not to know Him at all. In all cases, we have a propensity to live our lives as though whatever is achieved happens solely because of our own efforts. Although spoken by Moses and intended for the ears of the Israelites, we should take heed to the warning he gives in Deuteronomy 8:11 – 12, 14 (KJV), as it applies to us as well: “Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I commanded thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; . . . Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God . . .”. This lesson teaches us that we can’t live without God and in trying to do so by living like we alone are in total control of our lives, we’re biting the hand that feeds us. In other words, we’re cutting off our very life force by not acknowledging God as the dominant source of our life and in essence, we’re slowly killing ourselves.
The Inspirational Messages
So now that I’m in a jam, what do I do? Well it helps to know the reasons why we’re going through our misfortunes which have been discussed above. Next, we need help and inspiration to get through this period and as always, we can count on the Bible verses to inspire us in this manner.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 28:10 (KJV). The common factor found in the stories and accounts given in the Bible are that the people caught up in their own unyielding and frightful circumstances made the same disparaging outcry: When is this going to end? Indeed, I understand completely because I cry out the same exact thing! And the answer in Isaiah 28:10 soothes my aching, tired soul: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line: here a little, and there a little.” This verse clearly states that the learning process is slow and yes, tedious. And while I’m not thrilled to learn this, at least it explains the situation well enough so that even though the time spent in this predicament is creeping along at a snail’s pace, I know things are progressing as they should and I don’t have to feel like I’m continually drowning in an endless abyss!
While I study and wait for change, Lamentations 3:25 – 26 (KJV) tells me, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” It’s further confirmed in Lamentations 3:31 – 33 (KJV), “For the Lord will not cast off forever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” Thank God this won’t go on forever and He’s also good for not placing more on us than we can bear! This isn’t something our Father wants to do but like parents who have to teach their children by sometimes issuing types of discipline they take no pleasure in enforcing, so it is with God. And like loving parents, He does it with compassion. This tells me I’m on the right track!
Then there are those wise words of Paul in Romans 8:24 – 25 (KJV): “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” My days are consumed with uncertainties and I plow through unsure of where I’m going and what I’m doing. But I continue to do that which I believe to be the right thing to do as I maintain the hope that I’m going through this trial for a specific purpose. I also hope and trust that this purpose will manifest itself eventually so that I’ll fully understand what’s happening. Hope is good and it nurtures patience, the patience I need to endure this trial. Then in Romans 8:28 (KJV), Paul continues with: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” So once again, I relax in the faith that all of this will end in due time and my life and overall existence will have been greatly improved!
Conclusion
The greatest lesson of all is the one that tells us the world as we know it will be brought to an end and a new world will be brought into existence, as declared by St. John in Revelation 21:1 (KJV): “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” There’s a battle between good and evil going on and the prize is the souls of mankind. We have to be aware of this because it will be up to us to make that irrevocable choice that will determine our final outcome. Ultimately, what we go through right now isn’t to acquire some reward or permanent relief here on earth but it’s meant to prepare us for the coming new world that will be ushered in by our Father.
Listen to this: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” These are the words of Paul in I Thessalonians 4:16 – 18 (KJV). I need to know there’s more to life than getting up every morning to work, eat, perhaps socialize a little if there’s time, and then go back to sleep again. The words in Thessalonians may sound like a fairy tale to some but let’s face it: the Bible is either true or it’s not. I choose to believe that it is the true Word of our Father and He has documented these Bible verses to inspire us and give us hope for all times, good and bad. I therefore take heed to the following advice found in Philippians 3:13 – 14, KJV: “. . . but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Folks, I’m the first to admit that life isn’t easy. I strive hard not to lapse into a world of fantasy to escape the painful and discouraging circumstances I may encounter. But I’m not ashamed to confess that I need divine hope because this world offers nothing more than darkness at every turn. Fortunately, it’s because I’ve chosen to accept our Father and His Son Jesus Christ that I’m able to find light in the darkness and the path to clarity and peace of mind!
“. . . Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” (Revelation 19:6, KJV)
May the Lord bless and keep every soul that reads this article, and may they find immediate strength and wisdom from the words of these pages. Amen.