I've been amazed at the number of readers from all over the world that come to my blog on my Goodthoughts Bible Verse page looking for "reassuring Bible verses." Here's the story of how I first started taking God's "goodthoughts" to heart.
When I was 14, my parents and I lived in Hong Kong for about 5 months. I loved it...the energy of the city... with its intriguing lights, sounds and smells...and most of all the gracious hospitality and kindness of the Chinese people.
Our home life seemed very different there. "Home" was a two room suite in an aging Chinese hotel...with no TV and a radio that "signed off" at 6pm.
After supper each night we got back to the hotel about 2 or 3 hours before bedtime. My parents wisely let me stay out of school that year to experience the wonderful Chinese culture...so I didn't have any homework to do. But, it was quiet...very quiet. What's a teenage girl to do...?
I wrote letters...tons of letters to friends and family about the events of our day. I read books...we found a bookstore near us and I remember discovering Charles Dickens...I loved Great Expectations!
And then right before turning out the light, I would read my Bible. I had done this for years...a few verses each night from a devotional book.
"When you are on your beds, search your heart and be silent." Psalm 4:4
But sitting in my bed in Hong Kong, in the quietness ...with no distractions...it all changed. I discovered Psalms and Proverbs...they seemed like love letters to me...and as I read them over and over...I started to "get" it! From these two books I began to learn...how to talk with God as a friend...and that life came with instructions!! Life changing stuff!!
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:11
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:3-6
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
What I learned reading in my bed in Hong Kong is still true today.
- God knows me through and through and loves me anyway.
- He has a plan for my life that is good and he's willing to patiently help me figure it out.
- I can trust God completely because he only wants good things for me.
- He is always with me.
- And even when times get stormy in life and I don't know which way is up...God does...and...
- God always keeps his promises.
I'll always be thankful for those days and nights in Hong Kong...where I first realized God gives us all a yellow road of dreams!
Here's the link to my Goodthoughts Bible Verse page or you can always get to it from the left column.
Recent Comments