Which verses in your
Bible have you underlined or highlighted? Look over a few and ask yourself why
those are special to you.
Try to remember: Why
and how did they speak to your heart? During which event or era were those
verses your delight? Or your instruction? Or your only hope?
God longs for us to remember
the amazing things He has done (Psalm 105:5), but too often we forget.
Mike Metzger writes,
“Many churches have forgotten
the premium
that the historic
Judeo-Christian tradition placed on remembrance . . .
and recalling the
right things.
The ‘great sin’ of
the Old Testament
was forgetfulness
(at least it’s the
most recurrent offense).
‘Remember’ is the
most frequent command
in the Old
Testament.”
(Mike Metzger, Clapham
Memo,
January 19, 2007, “Back and Forth”)
Look through your
Bible and notice the Bible verses you cherished in the past, and remember those
verses that changed your life, passages you held onto in dark times, verses
that made you fall down in worship—and those that buoyed you in your everyday
happenings.
Stories that go with
those verses could provide good material for your memoir.
One day I spent half
an hour looking through an old Bible, one I used from the mid-1980s through the
early 1990s. Reading underlined passages sent me back to the ministries I had
during those years, and to specific locales, and they reminded me of people and
issues and heartbreaks and joys.
Reading them again
also reminded me God was always there in the midst, working out His best, even
if I didn’t know it at the time.
Below are a few of
the verses highlighted in my old Bible. Perhaps in reading them, you, too, will
discover story ideas of your own.
My flesh and my
heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm
73:26)
Above all else, guard
your heart. . . . (Proverbs 4:23)
All my longings lie
open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. . . . I wait for
you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God. (Psalm 38:9, 15)
Test me, O Lord, and
try me, examine my heart and my mind. (Psalm 25:2)
God has made me
fruitful in the land of my suffering. (Genesis 41:52)
You intended to harm
me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done. . . .
(Genesis 50:20)
You are the light of
the world. . . . Let your light shine . . . . (Matthew 5:14, 16)
“For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
I have seen the
misery of my people. . . . I have heard
them crying. . . . I am concerned about their suffering. . . . I have come down
to rescue them. (Exodus 3:7-8)
When they heard that
the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down
and worshipped. (Exodus 4:31)
Now you will see
what I will do. . . . Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. (Exodus
6:1-7)
The Lord kept vigil
that night. . . . (Exodus 12:42)
I will sing to the
Lord,
for he is highly
exalted. . . .
The Lord is my
strength and my song;
he has become my
salvation.
He is my God, and I
will praise him.
(Exodus 15:1-2)
I carried you on
eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. (Exodus 19:4)
In all things God
works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28)
Therefore, I urge
you . . . in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. (Romans 12:1-2)
Denise Beck writes that
when she takes her Bible’s crinkled pages and spends quiet time alone with God,
“He meets me in a new way. He teaches me and transforms me, and those places
and spaces are heavy with the stories He showed me. Stories of who He is.
Stories of who I am. Stories of who I am
in Him.”
Take a few days to
go through your Bible
and find passages
you cherish,
verses that changed
you,
verses that helped
you make decisions,
passages you held
onto in dark times,
verses that made you
bow down in worship.
Include verses that
nurtured you
through your
everyday routines
and those that
delighted you with joy.
Then write your
stories—
stories of who He
is, who you are,
and who you are in
Him.
