When I was little, I spent my Wednesday nights at a church
program called Awana. I eagerly memorized Bible verse after Bible verse in exchange
for patches and jewels that I attached to my grey and red uniform. I’ll fully
confess to being motivated by all the wrong things: I loved the awards on my
uniform, the ribbons and plaques, and the recognition for flying through my
yearly memory work. I went so fast that I ran out of official club materials
and started memorizing verses my mom wrote on index cards. I knew the Bible
said I was supposed to memorize God’s word, but I wasn’t exactly motivated by
Jesus.
My mom used to talk about Christians in countries where the
Bible was illegal, and how they HAD to memorize God’s word if they were going
to know what He said. Even during the Cold War, that scenario seemed pretty far
removed from my life in Ohio. And as technology has advanced, memorization has
fallen out of favor across the board. After all, who needs to spend all that
time memorizing scripture when you have the Bible app on your phone or smart
watch. As long as you have technology, you have God, right? Google is the new
sword of the spirit, seemingly. If you need to know what God says about
anxiety, just ask Alexa.
The thing is, the Devil doesn’t seem to attack when my Bible
– or my Bible app - is open. No, he weasels his way in during the dead of
night, when the lights are off and I’m trying to sleep. He sneaks up when I’m
driving, when I’m running, when I’m trying to work on schoolwork with my kids.
In this horrible season our family is in, he’s shown up at all the times I’m
most vulnerable. He plants a thought, and my mind seizes and runs with it.
What I’m learning as that this is when it’s imperative to
have scripture committed to memory. Those verses that I memorized as a
ten-year-old are still stored in the recesses of the brain. And over and over
again, the Holy Spirit has pulled those words to the forefront of my mind at
just the right time. The Spirit speaks scripture to me, but it doesn’t come entirely
out of the blue. It’s always scripture that I’ve memorized at some point in my
life, whether because I’ve read the passage over and over, perhaps taped it on
my bathroom mirror or closet wall – or even because I memorized it at Awana
club when I was ten. Often, I had no idea how significant it would be when I
was repeating it over and over, carving it into the fibers of my mind.
I can’t help but wonder where my mind would go in the middle
of the night, while I’m pacing a path in the music room rug, if I didn’t have
God’s words stored up in my heart. As it is, the Devil whispers, “You are
finished,” and God’s word whispers, “I make streams in the desert and rivers in
the wastelands.” The devil whispers, “This event has destroyed your life.
Remember how this turned out in times past?” And God’s word whispers, “Forget
the former things. Do not dwell on the past. Look – I am doing something new!” The
devil says, “Throw the kids in school and go handle this yourself. Get a job – or
two – flee ‘home’ with your head hung low and eke out a living.” And God’s word
whispers, “The Lord Himself will fight for you. You need only stand still.”
Of course, I firmly believe God speaks to me in other ways
as well. Just a few weeks ago, a friend shared a dream that made the hair on my
arms stand up. In all ways it felt like prophecy, but prophecy has to align
with scripture. Again, because so much of God’s word is woven into my heart, I
was able to measure that prophecy against scripture and know with confidence
that the two are aligned.
My own kids go to Awana now. Cubbies earned Violet’s undying
affection the moment the uniform appeared. An hour and a half with snacks and
games…and a new outfit??? God bless
America, that is right up her alley. And my boys, much like me, are enthusiastically
tearing through handbook after handbook, loading their uniforms up with bling. Eli
can say all three Sparks handbooks without prompting – three years of verses
thoroughly ingrained in his being. Caleb isn’t far behind. But even if
memorization was hard for them, I’d still make them do it. We are promised that
we’ll face times that are hard, and I want them to have the same foundation I
was given all those years ago. I want to make sure the Spirit has the same
tools to speak to them, late at night and when they first wake up.
The devil will speak all sorts of lies to us. In the last
two months, his primary language has been fear, and those fears look absolutely
valid. But God says, “I did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, of
love, and of self-discipline.” That verse has become my sword, a sword I’ve
been wielding over and over as fear tempts me to make rash decisions.
We can’t wield the sword of the spirit if we don’t know what
it says. Regardless of your age, and whether or not scripture memorization
comes with tangible rewards, I’d like to encourage you to commit a verse to memory
this week. You never know when you’ll need it.
No comments:
Post a Comment