If you have been in or around church culture, you have
probably heard the term ‘Life Verse’.
From what I’ve gathered, the term just means that this is a particular
verse from the Scriptures that may describe what you are going through or have
gone through, or it might be a scripture that encourages you in a particular
situation in life.
As I was searching out my faith 13 years ago, I came across
a verse, which God used to speak to the deepest and darkest places in my
life. At the time I had never heard the
Christianese term ‘Life Verse’, but on that day I read Romans 8:28, I knew that
God had started a fire in my heart. The
scripture says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those
who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
This verse took me back in time. All my failures, all my fears, all the wrong
that had come my way during my childhood and into my teenage years were right
in front of me again and this one scripture, planted a fire inside of me. God told me, “I’ve got a plan! It may look to
you like there is no way out, but I’m telling you, I AM the way out!”
Through the years I have had different verses that spoke to
me at different times and different circumstances. Philippians 4:13 and Jeremiah 29:11 would
encourage me during my times of questioning of who I am and what I am capable
off. But here recently, I’d say, going
on little over a year 2 Chronicles
20:32-33 have weighed heavy on my heart.
But this time this so called ‘Life Verse’ is more convicting than
encouraging.
This is what the NLT says,
“Jehoshaphat was a good king,
following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. During
his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people
never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.”
For the sake of typing I’m going to refer
to the king in this verse as King Joe.
King Joe, well, was a King, a leader of people. It says that he did what was pleasing in the
Lord’s sight. But what it says next haunts me.
It says during his reign as king he failed to remove all of the idols
from the kingdom, and for this very reason the people that God had given King
Joe responsibility over, never fully committed their own lives to God.
I feel that a lot of the decisions that I’ve
made concerning faith have been pretty big steps and I feel that those life decisions
were and still are pleasing to God. I
also know that there are things, ‘idols’ in my life that I put above God,
sometime on a daily basis. My fear is,
as a leader in all aspects, whether it’s being a Husband, Dad, or Worship
Leader, that I am held accountable for my spiritual influence on my family and
others that I lead. I would hate to be
at the throne of God on that day just to realize that that ‘ONE’ thing that I
felt like I had to hold on to was the exact thing that kept you from
experiencing God at the most intimate level.
I just wanted to share a little bit of my
heart with you this morning. The only ‘me’
most of you know is the guy who is on stage singing. Sometimes we have this perception as the on
lookers that everything is perfect and there are no struggles because of the
position. I’m here to tell you, that it
is the complete opposite. Now, don’t get
me wrong. I love my life and what I do
and God has called me to be. I share my
heart in hopes that whoever reads this will see that you are not the only one
with daily struggles and also that it encourages you to take your leadership position
very seriously.
Love you guys!
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