This past year, I was called upon for the first time in my life to be pillar of strength for other people in times of pain. When in a dark place, I go to my faith, one of the things in life that never changes and always remains steady. Through the stability of my faith, I am able to be strong for other people. Through these times of hurt, I return to these six verses that I often pray with or meditate in my mind when going through an ordeal. These six in particular are vague in nature (not a bad thing!) and seem to apply to a multitude of people when I explain them to a friend to assuage them. They are not particularly "preachy," but instead full of messages of confidence, hope and strength: daily reminders of ways in which anyone, regardless of their religion can live their life with less fear and more love.
1. Romans 8:18
Romans 8:18 is one of my favorites, and for good reason. The visceral emotions that the word glory conjures up for me are indescribable. The suffering you undergo in everyday life will be revealed (Think Wizard-of-Oz-like wonder of "What's behind the curtain?" of a stress free life). The glory of a peaceful life without war, murder, hate or death is there and it is a reminder that whatever happens in our short lives is nothing compared to the ending of our story we will experience. It is hard to focus on this when so much stuff happens in the now that is truly disgusting and horrifying, but Romans 8:18 is a reminder that the glory will happen within us. It won't be a outward expansion, but a internal renewing of ourselves of God's glory to be the best we can be and that he can make us.
2. Ephesians 2:19-22
Ephesians 2:19-22 got me personally through some very difficult times in high school and I believe this verse should be stamped in every teenager's room across America. Drawing upon the universal appeal to this verse, it is a daily reminder of how AMAZING and awe-inspiring our bodies, talents and personalities are. God created YOU, the way your voice sings, your love for pasta, your ability to run and jump, your sense of humor or the foot that is a whole shoe size smaller than the other, he counted every freckle on your body and thought that it was beautiful and needed to be in existence at this time in the universe. How cool is that? There will never be another one of you, EVER. So why would you ever feel bad about yourself? The answer: "I'm not as skinny as that Instagram model." "I have acne on my chin." "He loves someone else and not me!" It's hard to love one's self when multiple million-dollar industries feed off your insecurity on the daily and saturate the market with images that will try to make you hate yourself, but Ephesians 2:19-22 laughs in the face of that concept. "You are made of former stars, my child. You were painstakingly woven together with flesh and blood to make the only you. Love yourself like I do."
3. 1 John 3:18
Instead of the classic "Love is not boastful" Bible verse, 1 John 3:18 is instead my favorite because it deals with actions which one can see on the daily. Someone might say they love you but if they don't treat your friendship with the attention you deserve, they don't love you. They only love themselves. It's a reminder also to oneself to show our love for others. To go the extra mile for our friend, significant other, parent or teacher is to exercise a outward physical representation of pure love that, in turn, glorifies God. By loving others, we get to love Him.
4. Joshua 1:9
Similar to the classic, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I do not fear for you are with me" (Psalm 23:4), Joshua 1:9 deals again with the theme that pops up a lot of this collection of verses: fear. The reminder that God is constantly at our side is a lesson one needs to hear daily if one is to even get out of bed in the morning. The world is a extremely frightening place and the fact that God is there to walk through it with you, lending a hand, is sometimes the only consolation one can have. It also reminds us to be strong—strong against sin and strong against our battle with fear. We are deigned to be Luke Skywalkers of our own lives, battling our individual Darth Vaders. Fighting evil is scary when not a movie character but we are called upon to do it each day. We just need to have courage.
5. Colossians 3:2
Colossians 3:2 is a wonderful reminder to not get caught up in early annoyances or misunderstandings we under go in life. When traffic is awful, you and your brother are fighting or you failed a ridiculously hard midterm, it's very easy to get caught up in stress, anger or sadness about one's everyday life but instead in these downtimes we don't need to worry about minor issues but instead check ourselves and remind us of a life not filled with inconveniences but of a heaven. A place absolutely perfect in every possible way filled with no more worry or stress.
6. Ephesians 1:4
You are not meant to be ordinary. Not in the job you do, not in the way you hold yourself, not in the way you read a book or breath air. Every single person is created to EXCEL, to be excellent and absolutely amazing. Its a lofty destiny but the wording of this simply makes my heart happy. The fear of being average should not be a worry when one's body is composed of atoms which were once part of the heavens and the stars. By being alive, one is already halfway on the journey to being the best them they can be, but it's up to them to do the rest.
