Welcome back! Here’s Part II of my post-Fabulous Conference follow-up to my “Stand Tall” talk. If you didn’t have a chance to see that talk, you can CLICK HERE to go to the previous post. WARNING: There’s a discussion on tunics that kinda gets away from me. But, we all had a good laugh over it.
Did you happen to see this group of ladies? Now, they were fabulous!
Now, we’re going to talk about GPS verses or God-Positioning Scripture. What are GPS verses? Just like our car or phone GPS can help us navigate unknown territory to get us where we want to go, GPS verses are the verses in the Bible that can help you get back on track whenever you feel lost, weak, weighed down or afraid. Most of us want to avoid running our lives off into a ditch, right? However, there are time when so much is coming at us that we don’t know where to turn. That’s why I like the idea of GPS verses, because applied correctly, I know that God’s Truth will never, ever lead me in the wrong direction.
Finding GPS verses
If you have never selected GPS verses before OR you don’t know much about the Bible, this following section is for you. Lots of people are intimidated by the Bible because they don’t understand it or they don’t know how to use it. However, there are LOTS of resources available to help you understand the Bible and locate GPS verses to help you understand how to strengthen your spiritual roots and grow closer to God.
In the last post, you were asked to think about the places inside of you or situations in your life that are painful, broken, chaotic or fearful. Once you’ve identified those places, then you can begin to search for GPS scripture to help you discover God’s Truth. Remember, STRONG women STAND TALL on God’s Truth!
Example: If you are FEARFUL or ANXIOUS, then you want to look for Bible verses about God’s PEACE.
Youversion.com – This is a FREE Bible app you can download to use on your smartphone or tablet device.
Thanks to websites like Biblegateway.com or the YouVersion, the #1 Bible app in the world, you can do a search for verses on fear, anxiety or peace. Here’s my favorite GPS verse on the topic of anxiety/peace:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Translation )
This verse has been a powerful “go-to” verse in my life. It provides the framework for how I can manage how I think, feel and act in a way that honors God and gives God space to make me strong. Most importantly, this verse works EVERY SINGLE TIME I use it.
During the conference, I mentioned the GPS verse that provides a framework for my entire life:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. -Matthew 6:33
This is the verse that I use when considering new opportunities or when circumstances seem so out of control that I don’t know what to do next. By His providence, God allows this verse to invade my thinking and I get to choose to apply it to my life. This verse has gotten me back on track more times than I can rememember!
Using GPS verses to get your life back on track
Now, the verses that I shared above are my verses. These don’t have to be your verses because you’re life and circumstances are different than mine. You are welcome to use them until you find your own. Remember, God’s plan for your life to be built on Him, so you’ll want to locate your GPS verses and apply them to your life.
Here are your practical next steps to finding GPS verses:
1. Pull out your Bible or use your electronic device to locate verses that remind of you God’s Truth or help you nourish areas in your life that are weak or vulnerable. (By the way, if you have a Bible that you can’t understand, then it’s not the right Bible for you. My suggestion is to find a New International Version, New Living Translation or English Standard Version Bible. These translations are all reliable and are easy-to-read and understand. Furthermore, they come with great study aids to help you understand scripture.)
2. Don’t get overwhelmed. There are about 31,000 verses in the Bible. You can use the topical index in the back of a hard copy Bible or the search tool with an online resource. Search for the topics where you need to grow stronger like faith, love, patience, peace, etc.
3. Locate three GPS verses that make you feel uplifted, encouraged and strengthened when you read them.
4. Write them down on an index card or a small piece of paper and keep them posted somewhere that you will see and read them often until you memorize them.
TALK BACK TIME! What are your GPS verses? Would you share them with us? We can encourage each other by sharing verses that help each of us become STRONGER!
