We are living in unprecedented times. Since the “pandemic” was announced in early 2020, the world has become a drastically different place than it was before. Many of us can feel the heaviness all around us. The spiritual warfare is palpable and I honestly do not know how people without a close personal relationship with God are making it day to day; I know I couldn’t. It is only by the grace of God and strength that He has given me that I have been able to live in joy. No fear. No anxiety. God’s Word has been a source of comfort for me like never before. I have turned to Him and turned to his Word in a new way. It’s like my lifeline. Not just something that I probably should do but something that I must do. I have come to fully rely on God for every single thing in my life. I am fully surrendered and for the first time in my life, I feel completely free.
I wanted to share some Bible passages that have helped me navigate the past 3 years.
The following are passages of scripture that have continued to pop up in various places repeatedly over the past couple of years. When that happens, I take it as a sure sign that the good Lord wants me to take time to read them.
I have found that reading these passages out loud is more powerful somehow. Try it yourself and see what you think.
Isaiah 61
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Armor of God
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Psalm 140
Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
I say to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.
Psalm 35
Great Is the Lord
Of David.
Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers!
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!”
Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction!
Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know.
They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
But I, when they were sick—
I wore sackcloth;
I afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.
How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!
I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.
Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit.
They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!
Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord!
Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, our heart’s desire!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!
Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore,
“Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.
Psalm 91
My Refuge and My Fortress
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge —
no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Isaiah 55
The Compassion of the Lord
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
I hope these passages will bring you comfort when you face difficult circumstances and seasons in your life. If you don’t know Jesus and would like more information about His saving grace, please reach out to me. I would love to share His story with you.
