Bible Love...

Do you ever felt lost, scared, confused, hopeless, or any other (often negative) emotions, and you open your bible to the most perfect page and read a verse or chapter that is exactly what you needed to be reminded of? For me, this happened yesterday. I opened my bible and read the words. I felt like God was speaking directly to me. My throat got tight, tears welled up in my eyes, and I felt like it was okay to cry, and it was okay that I felt upset, and scared, but that at the end of the day that God had my back. He was there and he had helped me get out my a bad situation and that he would continue to love and guide me.

Yesterday was a spectacularly bad day. Just one of those days that leaves you mentally and physically exhausted. Smack dab in the middle of this exhausting day I got some awful news that shook me to my core. I found out that my ex-husband had put his current girlfriend (probably the woman he'd cheated on me with) in the hospital. 4 broken ribs, ruptured spleen and bruises around her neck where he had tried to choke her.

Why did this bother me so much? Because we haven't been divorced for 6 months. I was supposed to move in with him right before I filed for divorce. After more than a year apart due to his military career. Our relationship was never great, but I kept saying and thinking it would get better once we moved in together. I finally figured out that it wouldn't have and left. I felt guilty, like there was something I personally should have done, but I know that there wasn't anything that I could have done. I felt scared just to think about how close that came to being me. I'll make a more detailed post soon about my abusive relationship (if anyone cares to read it).

Hearing this news, I started crying and shaking and thankfully I had a great friend nearby to comfort me. I started to calm down and turned, as I often do, to the word. These were the two verses that made me feel the peace I so desperately needed.

Proverbs 3:5 (MSG)
5-12 "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all."

Isaiah 43:5-8 (MSG)
5-7 "So don't be afraid: I'm with you. I'll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west. I'll send orders north and south: Send them back. Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places. I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.' "

I use The Message version of the bible because I find it easier to understand, but whatever version of the word you prefer is great...

What are some verses that cheer you up? Or encourage you? Pick you up when you're down?

xoxo,

Sammie Joe