Notes on Memorizing
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2
Memorizing Scripture is not foreign to me - I was born into a small Baptist church and by the time I started attending Sunday School, I quickly fell into the rhythm of weekly memory verses, desperately trying to get another star in the squares next to my name.
Flannel graphs and juice cups and the coveted pickle jar hidden in the church kitchen are just as much apart of my memories as the King James Version that still winds itself around the passages embedded in my heart.
It wasn’t until I was in the throes of morning sickness eleven years ago that I made the decision to memorize a whole book of the Bible. It seemed like an impossible task, but verse by verse, week after week, I pulled out my book and recited the verses, the chapters, and then the whole of Colossians to my dear friend, Bob.
And then I fell out of habit - motherhood, homeschooling, ministry…life seemed to take over and convince me that I could put it all off until later - only, I fell apart, and it wasn’t until Jesus called me back to Himself through being in the Word regularly that He began to reorder and heal my life.
December 2021, I undertook memorizing Psalm 119. It took 504 days to complete it all - a lot of life happened in those days, but what I found, especially in the last 60 verses, each section for the week was applicable to our circumstances. When I struggled to find the words to pray, I turned to God’s Word and whispered them back to Him. To “meditate” in Hebrew entails reading the passage over and over again in “a low murmuring tone”. This isn’t an emptying of the mind, but a filling up of all the is right and true and good. It is coming to the Father humbly asking for Him to fill us with more of Himself.
When I was trying to decide what to memorize next, I had specific books that had been on my heart and mind, but I finally settled on Philippians, especially now in this season that we find ourselves in as we are learning to live well where God has placed us. Matthew Henry had this to say about the Paul and Philippi,
At Philippi, he was maltreated, there he was scourged and put into the stocks, and for the present, saw little of the fruit of his labour; and yet he remembers Philippi with joy. He looked upon his sufferings for Christ as his credit, his comfort, his crown, and was pleased at every mention of the place he suffered. So far was he from being ashamed of them, or loth to hear of the scene of his sufferings, that he remembered it with joy.
How easy it is to fall into the danger of grumbling and complaining about the very things that God has brought about. He led us here, opened every door, provided a job, a home, and safety from a government that seemed to have gone mad.
And I know, it has not been easy, but when I fix my eyes on the words of Scripture, when I meditate on them and slowly let them sink into my heart and mind, I find that sufferings and afflictions do mark the child of God, but the Father so graciously shows us how we are to live in the midst of it all - for our good and His glory, because He turns what is meant for evil to good.
And in the book of Philippians, through Paul’s own pen, we are shown again what it looks like to faithfully live in circumstances that are hard and uncomfortable, trusting that the hand of Providence is good and we find safe refuge when we hide ourselves in Him.
Today, I’m starting with verses 1&2, words that seem like a simple greeting, but are rich in the faithfulness of a kind Savior and the example of the saints who have gone before.
a wallpaper for your phone with the first letters of each word in Philippians 1:1-2
Hide His Word in your hearts, dear ones, let them fill your mouths with praise so that you may shine as His lights in a the midst of a crooked generation.
I love you so,
