Being raised in church my entire life, I’ve heard the phrase “life verse” more times than I can count. It seemed to be the focal point of every inspiring testimony, every visiting missionary, etc. It seemed like every strong, growing Christian around me had one on hand, ready to whip out at a moment’s notice — except me.

Don’t get me wrong, I read the Bible regularly. I had key verses that really touched me. I even had a favorite verse. But, how do you find one verse, a few short lines, that encompasses your entire spiritual life?

Then, I found it.

It happened in early April of my freshman year of college. Freshman year had been a rollercoaster. Unlike most of my friends, I didn’t really know where I fit in at this new, huge school. I didn’t join a sorority, I didn’t join sports, and there wasn’t any particular club I felt drawn to. Even the people I knew before coming to college seemed to be drifting into their separate worlds. To top it off, I seemed to be the only one around me who was uncertain of my major and future plans. I had never felt lonelier or more confused in my life.

The year seemed to drag, but before I knew it, it was almost Easter. In preparation, I was reading through the Gospels when I finally found a verse that touched my life like never before.

It’s found in John, when the priests are asking John the Baptist the same question I had been asking myself for months, “Who are you?” (verse 1:22). He responds in verse 1:23, …”I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord’” (NIV).

That’s it. That’s my life verse. That is who I am.

Isn’t that who Jesus has called us all to be? The voice of one in a life of wilderness, making way for the Lord?

Of course, John was probably referring to a literal wilderness, but we all live in a wilderness of our own. It could be shame, fear, ridicule, self-doubt, insecurity, toxic relationships, or (oftentimes) loneliness. Life can be lonely. The Christian walk can be a lonely, scary one. We are only, after all, the voice of “one.”

But we need not succumb to these feelings of loneliness and doubt. For this is the life God has called us to live. Just as John spent his life preparing the world for Jesus’s first coming, we too are called to prepare for his second coming by declaring His greatness to the world, even if at times we feel we are the only ones.

In my loneliness, these words have given me comfort. And in my confusion, they have given me peace.