Right now, summer is quickly coming to an end and the school year is rapidly approaching for me. I’m headed back up the mountain into my little mountain college town where I’ve attended school for the past three years.
This year, though, I’m not nearly as excited to go back. This past spring semester was really hard on me. I had a full class load, I was working about twenty hours a week, a season of depression set in, and I had lost a few friends.
I was ready to get as far away from Boone as I possibly could. However, during the changing of seasons, I had to remember that with God as the guiding force in my light, I needed to remember that I was going to go where He led.
Here are 10 Bible verses that got me through this past particular season of change, but also are always close to me when I go through changing seasons in general.
+John 3:33 (ESV) – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
This particular verse helps to remind me that God is first and foremost in my life. Too often, my ego gets in the way of decision making when it comes to location, career, friends, and education. Instead, I should be focusing more on God, and I know that in Him, my choices will reflect my faith increasing.
+Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) – “Jesus Christ is the same today and yesterday and forever.”
No matter my state of mind, my season of life, or my attitude, Jesus is the same. Forever. This is the greatest thing I can remind myself: the Lord that came to save each one of us still loves us no matter what mood we’re in, what decisions we’ve made, or what mistakes we regret.
+Ecclesiates 3:11 (ESV) – “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
It’s really easy to get frustrated with God when we forget that His timing is nothing like what we can imagine. Even when we don’t think that things are going beautifully, God knows what the big picture looks like. He will reveal things to us when it is time, even if we think time has already passed.
+Psalm 102:27 (ESV) – “But you are the same, and your years have no end.”
Just an echo from Ecclesiastes and Hebrews. Jesus is the same. His timing is not something we are able to comprehend. And when we put our trust in Him, we have faith that everything will work for His purpose.
+Isaiah 54:10 (ESV) – “’For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
No matter what, no matter the state of the earth, the Lord’s love for each and every one of us is completely steadfast. Not only that but he has compassion for us. He is willing to act on our behalf at any given time. Even during the seasons we think are the hardest.
+Romans 8:28 (ESV) – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
During our hardest seasons – those that are filled with depression, loneliness, anxieties, and more – as we intentionally cling to God, we know that He continues to work all things together even if we can’t see them. He will bring us to full perfection as only He can!
+Mark 1:35 (ESV) – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
During our changing seasons in life, it’s important that we stay connected to God. The best way to do that is to pray. That is our direct line, through Jesus, to God. Even Jesus – while on earth – prayed often and by himself. Communicating directly to God lets Him know that we see our relationship with Him as one of our main priorities.
+Acts 1:7 (ESV) – “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’”
Again, it is not a necessity that we know the timing of everything that happens in our lives. Some things happen quicker than we think, and some things happen way slower than we think. It’s okay to not know these things. However, it is also another chance for us to practice putting our complete trust in God and that He is good.
+John 1:1-5 (ESV) – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
God was the very, very beginning of everything. Not only that, but He is the light that shines in the darkness. There is no chance that the darkness can overcome Him at all. While we may feel like darkness is clouding over us, after reading this verse, we can stand confident in the fact that following God means that there’s no chance for darkness to cover us. We will always remain in His light…at all times!
+Daniel 3:17-18 (paraphrased) – “And, if not, He is still good.”
Even when God doesn’t come to rescue us when we think He should. Even when things happen we don’t think should happen, we know that God is always good. Through our lonely times, our seasons of depression and anxieties and more, God has been, is, and will always be good.
These are just 10 verses from the Bible that help me when my life seasons are changing. When the unknown is upon me, I turn to these pages quickly. They fill my soul with comfort and hope. They remind me of a God that loves me, redeems me, calls me, sustains me, and provides for me.
I mark these pages. I write these verses on index cards and sticky notes and post them around my home. I have them written on my heart and can recall them from memory.
What are verses you cling to during change? And how do you continue to remember them?
