The bible is filled with inspiring verses. There are hidden nuggets from beginning to end. I could literally pick thousands of phrases from the old and new testaments. In addition, there are many classic verses that are usually on a list like this that will be blatantly absent. I am not saying that I don’t find them to be great verses. John 3:16 is an amazing verse, however it did not make my list. The verses I will be using are my top 5 inspirational verses. That is to say, the 5 verses that speak into my life more than the others.
1) Luke 23:34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Jesus was hanging on a cross, beaten, bleeding and about to die for crimes he did not commit. Yet, in the middle of it all, he was interceding for us. Hanging there with spikes through his hands and feet, he worried about us enough that he asked God for forgiveness for those who did this to him.
How many times have we asked God for vengeance against those who did us wrong, when we should be praying for their souls? How many grudges do we hold when Jesus died for our sins? In the middle of our struggles or anger we should stop and intercede for our enemies.
We do not pray for others to help ourselves. We pray because that is what Jesus did for us. As Jesus prayed forgiveness for us, those around him, even those he was praying for, were dividing up his clothes in anticipation of his death. Still, Jesus prayed with the love that only He can show us.
2) The Beginning – Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In our translation, the original emphasis of the verse is lost. In the Hebrew, there is the “et”. This is an untranslatable word. It is the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the New Testament Jesus says, Revelation 1:8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
“I am the alpha and the omega.” The letters of the “et.” He is telling us that He was there. Waiting for us. Longing for us. Making plans for us. I picture this as a father speaking lovingly to his pregnant wife’s belly. “I can’t wait to see you! I have so many plans for you. I’m going to be the best Dad ever! I am going to do so many things with you. I will teach you so many things. I will always tell and show you how much I love you.”
For me, the first verse of the bible is my favorite. The fact that I never had a father makes this verse profound and meaningful to me. I thank God for this verse.
3) Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
I do not have to be alone. I will always have the Lord to renew me. I have thought about this, meditated and prayed. What I is see is in the same way you have to be there to fill up your flat tire, Jesus has to be there to “renew” you. Jesus is filling you up with his spirit. Those times when you think that you cannot do it anymore, that you have been beaten down, Jesus Is saying “Its OK, I’ve got this.”
The phrase “They will soar on wings like eagles” gives a whole new meaning to being uplifted. “Run and not be weary” How I need that kind of grace in my life. But, this verse reminds me that I am not alone, that I can carry on. I will be given everything I need to keep going regardless of what comes my way.
4) Psalm 23:4
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, [ a I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I know that during some of the toughest times in my life I have wondered what happened to God. I thought I was alone and forgotten. How else could these things have happened to me? Until one day I was reading Psalms 23 and it finally hit me. The verse does not say I will be protected from every circumstance. It says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley.” I will be in the darkest valley, but God is with me. We go through it together. He leads me with his divine wisdom to the path I should walk on. He protects me from going through anything I can’t handle and gives me new tools to go through new valleys of darkness.
5) Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God has had a plan for me since the beginning of time. He planned out my creation, my salvation, my life and my death. His plan is the best for my life if I would only follow it. Have you watched a movie where a group goes to carry out a mission with an elaborate plan? Inevitably, one of the characters deviate from the plan and the whole plan comes crashing down. How many times would my life have gone better or in a whole different direction if I had only followed the plan? God wants to prosper us but we get in the way with our own plans and schemes.
We need to pray and seek God to know his plan for us before we can follow it.