Six Inspirational Bible Verses for Everyday Life

Contrary to popular belief in the "modern world", there is an instruction manual for life. It is called the Bible. Specifically, the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament provides timeless instruction for everyday living.

You might think I would be an unlikely source for inspirational Bible verses, I don't know. I don't claim to be more righteous than anyone else or holier than thou. I do know that these Bible verses have often given me peace in times of trouble and provided me with inspiration when I was feeling that life was a word that rhymes with witch.

There are times in this life when we feel helpless and hopeless, that things will never turn around. It is part of the human condition to feel this way at times, but we do ourselves or no one else any good if we allow ourselves to wallow in these feelings. Sometimes we simply give in to feelings that things are just the way they are and there is nothing we can do to change anything.

Here are six inspirational Bible verses that could provide you with inspiration knowing that those feelings of gloom and doom don't have to last. It is no shame to get knocked down, as long as we don't stay down.

Four of these six inspirational Bible verses are from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. Here is the first:

Proverbs 14: 30, 31
A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones. / He who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

What the first verse means to me is kind of like the 90's song Don't worry, be happy. That's not to say we can never get angry about anything, but should be selective in our anger and control it rather than letting it control us.

As for the second verse, in these days of politicians cutting off people's unemployment benefits after they have been thrown out of work due to the outsourcing of jobs, etc., those who say the Bible has nothing to say about social justice ignore Prov. 14:31. Think Bruce Hornsby's song The Way It Is...

Proverbs: 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city.

This verse does not say Christians cannot ever be angry, but far too many seem chronically angry. That is not a very good testimony in my opinion. Nonbelievers do not want to be part of an angry mob mentality and few are convinced by Howard Beale-like rants. Confession: I need work on this one as well.

Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

This verse means we should encourage fellow believers and in some cases call someone out for misbehavior. We need to be careful in how we do so, in the second case, however. No one reponds favorably to being told not to light up with smoke being blown in his or her face...

Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

There are those, like a recent former President, who look at leadership as some macho, never-admit-a-mistake kind of swagger, as if admitting a mistake is a sign of weakness. As the Bible says here, the opposite is true. True leadership means admitting your mistakes and striving to not repeat them.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The King James version of the Bible, preferred by many says I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. Anything positive that we do can only be accomplished either directly or indirectly through God. He gives us any abilities we possess and hopefully we use them for the good of Him and others.

Philippians 3: 12-14
Not that I have already attained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet: but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Those words are simple to understand and yet so profound. In all the struggles of this life, we often feel as if we can be of no use to God or others due to our own shortcomings and failures of the past.

These inspirational Bible verses, especially the ones from Philippians written by the Apostle Paul, are all about putting aside what others may think of us or our own hypocrisy and reaching out to God to overcome all that.

Things to think about at not only Christmas season, but more importantly the other 364 days of the year. Thank you for reading and may God bless.

These Bible verses are from the New American Standard translation of the Bible.