One Bible Verse in the Hand Is Worth Two in The Bush

One Bible Verse in the Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush. -christyfitzwater.com

I propped my stockinged feet up on the coffee table at our friend’s house, as our small group settled in for Thursday Bible study. We had a good discussion about feet on coffee tables and my friend let us know how nice this table was compared to the old one that all three of her children had teethed on around the edges.

Our conversation for the evening was mostly about spending time with God, and the first question was how did we feel we had grown the last year.

I grew a lot. I was afraid to say it because it seemed straight out arrogant, but I thought, No, I really did grow a lot.

Finally, I braved up and said, “One verse changed my whole life last year.”

If you read my scribbles all through 2019, then you might groan and say, “Oh, that verse again?” because it’s all I could talk about. My daughter and son-in-law gave me a book, for Christmas of 2018, called Life without Lack, by Dallas Willard. It was a study of Psalm 23, and I grabbed onto the first verse and held fast to it through the 356 days of 2019.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1 NIV)

When I read that verse last January, I had a feeling that my whole life would change if I could just believe that one truth. And so began a year where the Lord taught me that the feeling of lack is just an illusion crafted by Satan. (Thank you to Dr. Caroline Heath, neuroscientist, for teaching me the word “illusion”.)

I don’t actually lack.

The year was full of worship, as I spent time thinking about the complete resourcefulness of the Shepherd. If I believed he was Creator of everything and owner of everything and was caring for me, then why would I worry about not having enough of anything to live the life he was putting in front of me?

The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1 NIV)

This verse has been for me like a good pair of Keens. Keens are the brand of shoes Montana folks wear in the winter when they want serious tread under their feet, for walking through snowy muck and across icy parking lots. Psalm 23:1 has been solid underneath me. I’ve broken it in, and it has only gotten better as I’ve used it in my everyday life.

So here’s the thing. When you want to know how to be a good follower of Jesus and how much of the Bible you should study every day, well what if I tell you that one verse might just be enough for a whole year?

ONE VERSE.

One verse that tells you who God is.

One verse that tells you who you are.

One verse that goes up against a great lie.

One verse you choose to believe with all your heart.

One verse you lean on like a crazy desperate person.

One verse that leads you to bottomless worship.

One verse for every problem and every scare and every challenge.

Now that’s a lot of Bible study. If that one verse has soaked in deep and changed your whole life, then wouldn’t you think you had, indeed, grown a lot as a follower of Jesus?

This year could you please quit worrying about whether you’re studying enough and just grab onto a little bit of Scripture until it transforms you?

3 Comments

  1. All of your posts have been spot on for the things going on in my life right now. The Lord is so good! I will cling to this verse this year.

  2. Kathy Beck says:

    Thank you. I needed to hear this and hear this verse again. My “word” for the year is Trust. This is a great verse to dwell on and remind myself that with God as my Shepherd I lack nothing.

Comments are closed.