God’s Word Finds Us When We Feel Lost

Natalie Hanemann explores a creative way to engage with Scripture. 

Verse-Mapping Scripture 

Scripture came alive for me a couple years ago when I listened to Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast. I’d be driving and hear a line that would stop me in my tracks. Scurrying to find something to write on — an old water bill, a receipt, a gum wrapper — I’d jot down the chapter and verse so I could spend time with it later. I have a pile of what looks like trash on my desk of these references. But digging into them always dropped lower in my list of priorities.  

Then last week I came across an ad for a Verse Mapping Journal. This is a scrapbooker’s version of Lectio Divina. You pick a verse from Scripture and hand-write it in a journal. Then you sit with the verse, placing a box around the words or phrases that stand out. You can use colored pencils to shade in the boxes while thinking and praying about the words. I was intrigued and decided to order one.  

Each page of the journal has a section to write the context of the verse: the author and location, what came just before and what’s coming next. Along with the context, you’re encouraged to look up three other translations to see what words differed. Do the other words make the meaning clearer? 

From my time in graduate school theology classes, I recognized we were doing biblical exegesis. But instead of being academic, it felt more creative and prayerful. Sitting with a verse — allowing room for God to be present and speak — slowed me to down while also giving me something to do with my hands. 

You don’t need to buy a fancy journal to practice verse-mapping. I bought it because if I relied on my own efforts to purchase a bullet journal and relegate it only for Bible verse mapping, I wouldn’t do it. By spending money, I was putting skin in the game.  

Trying verse mapping for myself

The first time I sat to work on this, something astonishing happened.  

After I pulled one of my scraps of paper, I wrote out Deuteronomy 30:11-14. 

For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?’... No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. 

Moses is preparing the Israelites for the last part of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. They’ve been traveling 40 years and are about to cross the River Jordan. Moses is pleading with them to renew their covenant with God, to keep the commandments so they may be blessed and not cursed. 

The phrases that stuck out to me were: 

• Not too wondrous
• Or remote
• Very near 
• In your heart 

I pulled up BlueLetterBible.org to find the translation of these words from Hebrew and discovered a more expansive meaning.  

• “Wondrous” could be translated as “hidden” or “mysterious.” 
• “Remote” could be translated “beyond your reach” or “far away.”
• “Very near you” could be “wholly” or “speedily” “among” or “with” you. “In your heart” could also be “in your inner man, mind, or will.” 

Said another way, the verse may translate to: This commandment [to renew the covenant with God] isn’t a mystery or beyond my reach of understanding. It is wholly within me, in my heart, mind, and soul, and I can follow it.  

Renewing my own covenant with God

Renewing my covenant with God meant something very personal. I, too, was preparing to move after a difficult walk in the desert. In two weeks, my two youngest kids, whom I’ve homeschooled for four years, would be attending in-person school. I’ve avoided thinking too much about this upcoming transition because it’s hard to imagine letting go of the surprise trips to Chick-fil-A or pushing off school to spend a day at the river. 

More painful is the desert walk I’ve taken with my 16-year-old daughter, who would also soon be leaving. Not for school during the day, but to move away to boarding school. I’d no longer be cooking her dinners or making sure she was awake in the mornings. She’d be managing her time by herself or with the help of others.  

I needed to hear what God had to say. Like the Israelites, I was preparing myself to move ahead, but I couldn’t stop looking behind me. Instead of focusing on what they’d be gaining, I could only focus on what I’d be missing.  

But God was telling me I wouldn’t be taking the next leg of the journey alone. He is “very near.” His words are in my mouth, on the tip of my tongue. Keep His commandments, not so I can get an A in rule-following, but so I can be comforted by His nearness.  

And this was just from one verse mapping session! I would come to rely on this time with God, exploring His Word, which never comes back empty. His Word is in me, and it isn’t too mysterious to understand. I can read it and follow it. I’m not lost or alone because He is right in front of me.  

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Copyright 2024 Natalie Hanemann
Images: (top) Canva; author's journal photo copyright 2024 Natalie Hanemann, all rights reserved; bottom photo from iStockPhoto, licensed by author