The Problem

I have a problem.  Well I have several problems.  But this problem is definitely related to the plan.  I have an awful memory.  I am pretty certain that this does not surprise you.  In fact, I might have instantaneously created a “something in common” moment with you.  I have been around women quite a bit in the last few years, and this I know, we all struggle with this memory thing.

But let me take a moment to give you a picture of my memory history.  For as long as I can remember (admittedly that could be only as far back as last week) I have had remembering problems.  To the extent that this little nuance of my character became the focus of more then one sibling jest.  This weakness was so glaringly obvious that it became a label.  I was the one that “forgot”. 

My ineptitude rose to such an extreme measure that I vividly remember my father telling me I was forbidden to use that word “forgot”, ever again.  I guess I overused my flawed memory capabilities to release me from some childhood responsibility.  It worked for a while.  I think it was probably even cute, than it just got annoying.  But my memory flaws were not just a play to get out of stuff.  They were real.  Yeah, I have deep ingrained memory issues for better or for worse.   

For years, I figured “what is the great hype about remembering things anyway.  Isn’t that what paper is for?”   For years, if I were on the fly with no paper or now no cell phone to put the thing I needed to remember, I would invariably ask my son or my husband (science guy) to remember things for me.  They were gifted at remembering.  They did it flawlessly.  They rocked it when it came to total recall.  Perfect solution.  Well kids grow up and move on.  Husbands get old and have their own memory issues and I am faced with my glaring tendency towards memory-less-ness (I just made up a word).  Now many years later I am not only confronted with the initial weakness, but add to that age and more age.   

Which brings us to our first question regarding my project.  Does scripture memorization really matter anyway?  Since it is so hard for me, do the benefits outweigh the work?  Is it really worth the trouble?  Well according to God, and He is really smart, it does and it is.  You can check out these scriptures if you need proof.

         Deuteronomy 6:4-12

         Joshua 1:8

         Psalm 1

         Psalm 37:29-31

         1 Peter 3:15

         Romans 12:2

         Colossians 3:16

You can see the encouragement of memorizing scripture spans the breath of both the Old and the New Testament.  Did you catch that one of the very scriptures about memorization is buried within our own beloved Colossians? 

There are lots of reasons to memorize scripture.  But since my focus is to live wreck-less by putting my identity fully in Christ and what He has done for me, it is only to the extent that I have those truths buried deep into my heart that I will ever live them out in my present reality.  Our heart is the center of our faith.  We will always act on what we believe to be true.  If we are continually meditating on what the world tells us is truth then we will live out of that belief system. Conversely, if we believe that God’s word is truth, we will do the same. 

We are constantly inundated with the world’s truth often without even knowing it.  With the increase of media forms, we are bombarded by the world’s belief system more then any other generation.  Aside from the antiquated media of T.V., newspapers and magazines, you now have instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for a start.  Information comes at us with at a rate that far surpasses any generation before us.  A lot of that information is contrary to the Word of truth that we hold dear.  In order to combat this rampage of worldly information, we are going to have to step up our level of renewing our minds to keep pace or live in a bubble.  I confess, I prefer the bubble.    

What are some of the world’s messages that we might have accepted as truth?

- You are what you do.  Your value and worth are solely based on your accomplishments. 

- You are how you look.  If you are lean and look great (ahem young) then you are important.

- You are how you think.  If you are smart then you matter.

- You are how many friends you have.  If you are popular and have a lot of friends then you have value.

The list goes on and on.  If you have wealth, if you have perfect children, if you are a great parent, if you are accomplished, if you are healthy, if you do it all (one of my favorites for women), if you have the perfect home, if you have the perfect anything.  Then and only then you have value and you matter.  The world judges our lives by our externals yet they are fleeting.  There is no security in any of them.  The only security we have is that which we find in Christ.  The world will tell us otherwise.  The world will do everything it can to convince us that what we have is not enough.  Don’t fall for it. 

It will take a disciplined mind to be able to combat this assault on our identity senses.  It isn’t something that we can take passively.  We are going to need to approach it with tenacity and rigor.  We can not allow the world to get our minds and our hearts if our desire is to live victoriously. 

I hope I haven’t totally stressed you out at this point.  If you don’t have a mind for memorization you are in good company.  Yet, I have some good news.  God can help.

My second question was about whether it was even possible to accomplish memorization.  It is!!  Emphatically it is!  The problem is we have been doing it wrong all these years that is why it hasn’t worked for us.  I think I will save this for the next post.  I have given us a lot to think about today. 

Stay tuned!