Guest Post: A Life Verse From a Lady-In-Waiting

A Life Verse from a Lady-in-Waiting

By Sherri Stewart

Do you have a life verse? If so, who gave it you? I have a life verse, but I’ve owned it for so long, I can’t remember where I got it—maybe it was given to me at my baptism or perhaps at a ladies conference. What I do know is I have a great verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5,6).

The next question that comes to my mind is—if someone gave me that verse, how did they choose it? I would like to believe that a gifted pastor was prompted by the Holy Spirit to give me that verse. Or maybe there are certain Bible verses that are so full of wisdom that they lend themselves to becoming life verses, and everyone gets great ones.

Whatever the case, I love my verse. There is nothing I want to do more than trust the Lord with all my heart. Sometimes, God puts us in situations where all we can do is trust Him. For me, I had just passed the bar exam and was looking forward to spending the summer finding the perfect job with an immigration law firm. I had dreams of fighting for the rights of the immigrant and the oppressed. Instead, in a matter of a few months, my husband lost his job, I had knee surgery, we lost our home and our savings, my husband lost part of his foot, and our dog died. Call me Job. Not the best summer. I had to put my law career on hold and find a job to support the family. We moved in with my son in his one-bedroom apartment. The only bathroom was in his bedroom. Can you imagine?

Yet I wouldn’t change a thing. God has made the Bible come alive since our lives turned upside down. I find myself memorizing Scriptures without any effort at all, and singing verses back to Him as I walk around the lake near our apartment. I have memorized so many verses, my melodious repertoire continues until I arrive at my door. I do my best to keep it down when neighbors walk past.

Most of the verses have to do with waiting. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong, and take heart, and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:13). In days of old no one has heard, no one has listened, no eyes have seen, any God except You, my Lord, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him. (Isa. 64:4).

 I am a lady-in-waiting.

The problem with my life verse is my tendency to overlook the second part of the verse-Lean not on your own understanding. In fact, I have a feeling if I could just stop leaning on myself and lean the other way, I’d learn the lessons that God has for me. Instead, I feel sorry for myself or worse, try to solve my problems.

Maybe that’s why I was given that particular verse. God knew that my type-A personality would get in the way of my progress on that straight path He promised me. God has given us so many fine examples of people who have leaned well. Mary, at fourteen years old, didn’t question the message the angel brought her. Gideon, buoyed up by the fleece, didn’t fall apart when his troops were whittled from thousands to hundreds. And who could imagine going through labor at Sarah’s age?

My advice to the unversed: Ask God for a life verse. And when you have one, wonder why that particular verse was chosen for you.