Worthy of Our Time

"How sweet are Your words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

The sum of Your word is truth."

Psalm 119:103, 160a

About ten years ago, we had just moved to a new community and were visiting churches, looking for a new church home.  I walked into the four-year-old class to pick up our son when I looked across the room to see him standing in the midst of some kind of dispute; I supposed it was over some toy.  I arrived just in time to hear him say to the other children, "Don't you know what the Bible says?  'Do everything without complaining or arguing!'"  Seriously, that's what he said.  I knew exactly where that came from, and, if any of you have had the pleasure of listening to or watching the Steve Green Hide 'Em in Your Heart Bible Memory songs on CD or DVD, you know, too.

Over the years, our family has certainly reaped blessings from memorizing Scripture, yet I am both firmly convinced and convicted that we still don't do it enough.  God tells us we should know His Word, and I'm sure He knows far more about the benefits for us than we've ever comprehended.  Looking back in our family, one benefit is that, even at a very early age, our children had an internal guide to godly behavior, based on memorized Scripture, even before they more fully understood the theological reasons.  Did it guide their behavior all the time?  No.  Of course, our children weren't perfect, but Scripture was being laid down as the authority and a foundation worthy of building a life upon.  Filling up their little heads and hearts with Biblical truth is the kind of start Deuteronomy 6 is talking about.

The words and the images we take in do leave permanent impressions.  They shape the way we will think and act for the rest of our lives.  From a human perspective, Scripture has an impact at least equal to anything else we internalize.  Far beyond that, it is the supernatural Word of God and has God's power behind it to transform lives.  It's one thing to read it, but it gets woven so much more deeply into the very fiber of who we are when we commit it to memory.

So, why do we memorize so little of God's Word, especially as adults?  Why is it that children have 'memory verse' assignments, but adults rarely do?  We can use busyness as an excuse, or the handy aging brain/declining memory line, but I seriously doubt God is buying it.  What kind of message are we communicating to our children about the value of God's Word?

Recently, I learned that someone we know had just finished memorizing the entire book of Romans.  Yes, the entire book.  I was absolutely flabbergasted.  Then I was sorely convicted.  I memorized the book of James once, but that was more than twenty years ago.  The more I thought about it, the more I, then, became inspired to seek Him even more earnestly through His Word, renewing my devotion to committing much more of it to memory.

But what if memorizing doesn't come as easily as we'd like, or as easily as it used to?  We are told by Jesus that if we pray according to His will, that we will have what we ask.  So how about praying for God's enabling to memorize His Word?  That's clearly His will.

When Vera, our adopted daughter, first came from the orphanage, she had trouble memorizing anything.  She confessed to us that, when she was at the orphanage school, she would feign illness and escape to the infirmary rather than attempt to give a presentation before her class of something she was to have memorized.  Maybe she just wasn't capable of memorizing anything?  One could make lots of excuses for an orphan who'd been the victim of less than optimal brain stimulating opportunities.

Instead, we decided to believe God.  Even though she had a terrible time memorizing anything in the past, we prayed for her to be able to memorize Bible verses.  We should not have been surprised at the result.  Yes, she can memorize Scripture, and lots of other things, too, now.

Are you content with the way things have been?  Will you believe God with me?  Let's ask Him to enable us to hide more of His Word in our hearts!

And May He use His Word in our hearts to shape our hearts--and our actions--to be more and more like His!

"Your testimonies are wonderful;

Therefore my soul observes them.

...My heart stands in awe of Your words"

Psalm 119:129, 161b

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.


Homeschooling with her husband, Scott, since 2001, Carol believes nothing is too difficult for God.  She is a passionate encourager and loves using creative means--including writing music, speaking, and blogging--to encourage others to trust God through all the adventures He calls them to.  You can read more from her at her Unsmotherable Delight blog (udelight.blogspot.com), where you'll find faith-filled original songs, favorite scriptures, family stories, and even a little film about adoption, all designed to inspire and lift your spirit.  Her 'theme song' titled Captain's Anthem can be heard on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/30769152.