Inside: Mamas! Memorizing Scripture matters. If you're not convinced, give me a few minutes to try and persuade you 🙂
Sitting on the steps leading down to the swimming pool - as my pulse sped up and my hands grew increasingly clammy - I frantically wrote the same verse over and over again on a notecard.
I'm a people pleaser and a rule follower. And today, in health class we had a Bible memory verse test (in health class?? Yes, it’s true!). Of course I hadn't memorized it and was spending my last ten minutes of lunch frantically packing the words into my cloudy and panicked brain (in high school everything seems so dramatically important, doesn't it??)
I ended up acing the test (hooray!) and stepped out of that classroom breathing a sigh of relief.
But after awhile I started to feel like that time cramming was spent in vain - did I actually memorize God's Word? Was this rush to please really just that - a stupid attempt to look good in front of someone else? yes - it sure seemed that way!
Hiding God's Word in our hearts - it sounds cliche, doesn't it?
For a long time I didn’t like the phrase because it was so…fluffy. But the older (and wiser?) I get, the more I realize how important memorizing and meditating on Scripture is. And today I want to share some of those reasons with you!
Quick disclaimer! I'm not always in the habit of memorizing - so don’t think I’m over here on my high horse looking down at you from up above. I’m giving a pep talk to myself, I can assure you! Which leads us right into the first reason memorizing Scripture is so important:
5 Reasons To Memorize Scripture for Moms
1. We are a forgetful people
I like to say I’m a list maker, and in some senses I am. But when it comes to grocery shopping, I tend to think I can just take a peek in the fridge and remember exactly what we need for the week.
But it doesn’t work that way.
Invariably I get to the checkout line with this feeling I’ve forgotten something. Something important? Most times - yes.
If I just had a shopping list…
Memorizing Scripture is like our shopping list. Without that "shopping list", we can spend time in the Word, but are going to forget what we’ve read.
When push comes to shove, we are a forgetful people.
And have been for the entirety of our existence on earth! The Old Testament is filled with ways God asked His people to remember - building stone altars, binding God’s word on their forehead, writing things down…because He knew we were/are prone to forget.
We have a tendency to forget Truth, when something difficult arises. And without that Truth in us, we’re just going to be riding on our emotions; and let me tell ya - that’s not a good look for me!
2. Give the Holy Spirit something to work with
My mom dropped off an old bike of hers not long ago so I could start riding with my boys. I hadn’t been on a bike in years, but it turns out it doesn't take much to get back into the groove!
Now think about the first time your kid hopped on a two wheeled, training-wheel-free machine… it wasn’t quite as simple and easy.
John 14:26 says:
"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
When we memorize Scripture, we are putting truth into our minds that the Holy Spirit can then bring back up when we need it most. By memorizing Scripture, we are giving the Holy Spirit something to work with! We are preparing now for what will inevitably come in the future.
3. Jesus did it
When I was in middle school I used to try and mimic the looks of actresses I saw on TV - if they had a plastic choker around their neck and short cropped hair I would want to do the same.
As an adult, I hope I’m not still as easily swayed by an actor on a screen.
As a Believer , I want to be astronomically swayed by the Jesus I see in Scripture. I want to want to mimic Him.
And one way to mimic Him is to memorize Scripture.
He used memorized Scripture to teach others; He used it to combat Satan; He used it to remind people of God’s promises. All throughout the Gospels we see that Jesus spoke the words of the Old Testament back to those around Him. He knew the Bible. And He had it memorized.
If Jesus knew the value of knowing and memorizing Scripture, shouldn’t we take that as a sign that we may need it, too? Jesus is our ultimate example. So let’s follow it.
4. To prepare us for the future
A couple of years ago we had a miscarriage. And as it turned out I got really angry at God for a few things surrounding those circumstances.
I was angry at the Holy Spirit - I felt like I'd been tricked by Him. But the thing is, I hadn't filled my head with knowledge of the truth of the Holy Spirit beforehand. If I would have - if I would have had the Word of truth and peace filling my head - maybe I could have handled that situation better.
It’s nice to have what we need when we need it, right? But that doesn’t just happen. We have what we need at the moment we need it, when we prepare for it.
So prepare for the future. Prepare for what is going to come your way - good or bad. Fill your mind with Words of Truth, so that when you need them they are there.
5. To help us fight against sin
In Psalm 119:11 David says:
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
In Luke 4, when Jesus is being tempted in the desert, He used memorized Scripture to fight Satan every single time.
If David, a man after God’s own heart, learned Scripture in order to run from sin, and Jesus memorized Scripture to fight against Satan (at least we see that is one of the reasons), then who are we to think we can go about life without having God’s Word embedded in our hearts?
With all the information and thoughts that filter through our brains in a day, we need to have Scripture ready when some of those thoughts and feelings lead us to things that are just untrue. We cannot do it on our own, mama! And we have to be active in our battle against Satan.
I was sitting in my dorm room one day crying over this feeling of depression that had seeped in and taken over. I was jamming cookies in my mouth because food was comforting and felt like home. But in an attempt to make myself feel better, I was just feeling more depressed at my growing waistline.
And then I ate more cookies because they made me feel better...
And you know what verse popped in my head out of no where?
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
1 Corinthians 6:19
Exactly what I needed to hear showed up exactly when I needed to hear it..
God is a good God!
And guess what? 1 Corinthians 6:19 was one of the verses I memorized in my high school health class 🙂
Even though I was often just jamming and cramming to pass the test, the Holy Spirit used it in my life.
***side note lesson: no time in Scripture is time wasted. God can use it. Even if you don’t think it’s sticking, He can use it in the right time.
Even though memorizing scripture may not “feel” like something important to do right now, you’ll never regret it. It will bring you peace in distress, hope in pain, and joy as you enjoy the beauty of the world.
I’m rooting for you.
