Hiding Gods Word in Your Heart
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:15-16
There is nothing in this world more powerful and life changing than the Word of God. What we've learned in our home is that, just like every other promise in the Bible, the promises in the passages above is so true.
- There is nothing more powerful at calming a child throwing a tantrum than singing Scripture over them/with them. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:21
- There is no better lead into solving sibling rivalry than quoting Scripture with the dueling siblings. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18
- There is no better way to resist the temptation to lose my temper with my kids than saying Bible verses out loud to myself. Love is patient, love is kind..." - 1 Corinthians 13:4
- There is no better way to find the strength to be brave and bold than speaking and praying the promises God gives us in his word. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7
And here is where I'd like to challenge all of us. In many of the situations above, while God's Word is the best way to approach the situation, often we don't have the extra five minutes to pick up a Bible and search for an applicable verse. Or, situations arise and we don't have a Bible with us or easily accessible. This is where memorizing Scripture is so important. You see, once we've taken the Word of God, and hidden it in our soul, no one can take it from us. It is our sword, right there to be picked up at a moment's notice when a battle arises. It's always with us and readily available. That is the kind of weapon that Satan doesn't want us as Christians to wield and that is the kind of weapon we need to be sharpening.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12
Now, if you are someone who has a hard time finding the gumption or ability to memorize Scripture, you are not alone. Here is a little suggestion. I grew up with an amazing set of children's stories with Bible verses put to music. They are very catchy, offer a great selection of verses and are very quickly memorized. Each CD has about 10 Bible verses on it and there are 7 CDs. We found the company that made these cassettes as kids and ordered the CDs online after we were married. They have become our favorite car listening music with the kids. (www.gthalo.com) Not only do our kids love them, but my husband and I enjoy them as well. If you have kids, it's a great way to have an excuse to listen to them. If you don't, well who really sees what you listen to on your ride to work or the grocery store anyway? :)
The best part? If you do have kids, they gain the same blessing of memorizing these verses as well! It's such a joy to hear my little ones singing Hebrews 13:6 when they are nervous of the dark or 1 John 1:9 after they've apologized for misbehaving and been forgiven. My favorite is the calming effect of hearing the Word of God on the ride home from a long, busy day. There is nothing like God's Word to take a car full of tired, crabby kids (and adults) and refocus the mood to one of gratefulness.
Do you make memorizing Scripture a priority? If so, I'd love to hear the different ways or suggestions that you have to hide God's Word in your heart!