"Thy WORD have I hid in my heart , that I might not sin against THEE." Psalm 119:11
This past year and a half I have been trying to memorize God's word. I'll be honest, in years past, memorizing verses was not part of my fellowship with my KING. Oh, I knew some verses here and there... but I never made it a practice to faithfully memorize verses from the Bible.
I always seemed to have an excuse... but the one I really held fast to was a good one, " I'm too old, nothing will stick now." It was always easier to blame it on age. Until one day...
You see, I had been visiting an older Christian sister... I remember making it a point to spend some time with her, as she was alone. I wanted to be of encouragement to her. So when we met, maybe once a week or so, we would often talk about things that mattered to us... about things that had happened that week, or maybe about projects we were both working on, or we would share things about our families, or simply reminiscing on past life experiences.
We always enjoyed getting together, mostly because we both loved the LORD. The LORD was our common ground. So we often found ourselves sharing scriptures... maybe a verse that especially encouraged us that week. But I remember her telling me often the joy she found in a passage of scripture she was currently memorizing. I never thought too much about it in the beginning. However, it seemed that every visit I made, she would joyously share her love for memorizing God's word, and what a blessing it was to her. She was convinced we needed to be in GOD'S word daily. I agreed with that, but memorizing, well, I still thought I couldn't do it. Unbelievable, right? How we stick so faithfully to our excuses. But I was blessed to hear her often remarking what a joy it was to think on the LORD throughout the day ... and finding such comfort at night, meditating on scripture.
Over the weeks that I spent visiting her, God's Holy Spirit slowly began working in my life. Why couldn't I memorize scripture? There really was no excuse, I shamefully accepted the fact that I really didn't want to... because that really was the reason. Age had nothing to do with it. My friend was 85 years old, and she was memorizing passages! What was my excuse?
I remember one day, thinking that I ought to start memorizing... I'll be honest it was a long struggle. But the LORD put it on my heart to start small... with a verse I was familiar with. Before long, I was memorizing passages! I couldn't believe it! I really could memorize. And oh, what a blessing it has been for me... words can never express my gratitude to GOD'S gentle ways with me! Through days and weeks of going through anxiety attacks, GOD'S word was my only hope and peace. What peace memorized verses brought to my anxious heart!
Throughout my memorization, I learned that you don't quickly read through a verse... but rather, you slowly meditate on it, because it needs to sink in the innermost being. And it is in memorizing, that GOD graciously reveals SO many jewels. Tidbits that are often missed when we hurriedly read through a passage. Tidbits that change our lives. Tidbits that keep us thinking on things above.
Do you memorize verses? Do you know the power of GOD'S word in your life... I urge you to memorize. You will only reap benefits from filling your heart and mind with the TRUTH.
God's WORD brings peace, comfort and wisdom. It also protects us from the wiles of the devil and shield us from temptations, or from sinning against God... but ultimately, it gives us LIFE.
"Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." PSALM 51:6
Isn't it amazing, GOD desires it as well... HE desires that truth would be in our inward parts!
May you know the power of GOD'S HOLY WORD in your heart today.
~Ellie
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