Hello my models of memorization!!!!
Right off the bat I want to tell you that I am steamed. I fell for it again. When will I ever learn? I have had an extremely rough week and my faith has been rocking back and forth like the proverbial ship on a stormy sea. I don’t mind telling you that fear has been seeping into every available nook, cranny and crevice in my spiritual armor. I had worries about health, worries about finances, worries about kids, worries towards extended family members, worries about friends, economy, the weather, not having enough, having too much, I said too much, I said too little, I shouldn’t have gone there, I should have gone there, I did too much, I did too little……just making myself crazy with worry. Worry, worry, worry. Then my biggest and I mean my biggest mistake was my solution. Ok I will just not worry. Has anyone ever tried that and has that actually worked? Never does for me. The more I try not to worry it seems it only initiates a new worry, I start to worry about my not worrying.
Then today, I happen to read an old post on the blog. What Are You Standing In? and my very own words gave me the great big old spiritual shake I needed to get me back on track. The post talks about a memory verse I had been working on “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” (2 Corinthians 1:24) I was reminded that if we are standing in our circumstances and our worries we will not stand for very long because we as Christians walk by faith and not by sight. The solution is not to try to worry less but to activate my faith and trust God more. Everything that I was worried about, I realized, was just a plain old nuts and bolts faith issue. The enemy had kept me looking down at my circumstances rather then up at God. I don’t need to just stop worrying but I need to take every one of those troubles and entrust them to God. I need to step out of the circumstances and situations, which by the way I have no control over anyway, and step into the realm of faith.
Why am I sharing this today? Because the very verse that God used to snap me out of my week long self absorption with worry was a memory verse from last year. When I stumbled across the post the verse wasn’t new to me, but it did remind me of what I already knew from the time I was memorizing it. That, my dear wonderful co-laborers in memorization, is why we do this; so that we are equipped and ready for anything. As we commit our scriptures to memory, we are arming ourselves for the obstacles that lie ahead and not necessarily what is in front of us today.
How I love God’s word. I can’t tell you enough how God has changed my life because of it. His Word means everything to me and I am so thankful that I have the privilege to know Him through it. That is why I am passionate about studying it, memorizing it, and singing it. God has turned my world upside down because of His inspired Word and I just am filled with gratitude that He opened my eyes to see Him in it. Not only has He done it in the past but He is still doing it. I love that about Him.
So that is my testimony for memorization. I bet you have one too. If you do, please share it with others as a word of encouragement to them. It might just be the thing that sets them on the path to Bible study and memorization.
Ok well today is Bible verse memorization number 7. What’s your verse? Here is mine:
“Puts up with anything. Trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.” 1 Cor 13:7 MESSAGE
Love you guys. What a joy and privilege it is to memorize along with you.
"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." James 1:3
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