I just returned from a wonderful women’s retreat in Lancaster. For the theme of “Belonging,” I spoke on Seated, Surrendered, and Sent, and I enjoyed true fellowship with so many great women. Something particularly special involved a moment when the leadership team passed around piles of beautiful bookmarks all with different colored tassels. Each bookmark contained a different scripture reference. The leaders said that they prayed that God would help each woman see how her unique bookmark’s verse applied to her life.
I chose a blue tasseled bookmark. When I turned it over, my special verse was Philippians 4:19. Each woman had to look up her Bible verse and perhaps view it in several different translations. All the ladies around me were so happy to reveal their Bible verse and consider how the Lord might speak to them. I loved how the whole room erupted in voices wanting to talk about various Bible passages.
When I looked up my passage in different translations, I found one I absolutely loved. It read like this: My God will richly fill your every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus. (from GOD’S WORD translation). I focused on the phrase “in a glorious way” as I thought about a theme in my life of looking for—and finding—unexpected joys. The verse made me think how God won’t simply meet our needs; He’ll richly and gloriously do so.