Hiding It In My Heart

        It seems that during all phases of my life, I have been required to memorize things.  As a child, I would have to memorize various poems and then recite them in front of the class.  We all had to do it so it wasn't a real big thing except I didn't enjoy speaking in front of people in those days.  Then, as a teenager and being involved in regional and state solo contests, I would have to memorize a rather large piece of music.  When I became a man, it seemed as if the requirements for memorization had been lessened.  Then, the following verses were brought to my attention.  Psalm 119:9-11 says, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." 

       Maybe I could figure that the years of practice of memorization had a reason.  It was so I would be able to memorize Scripture.  The verses state that a person "hides" the Word of God in his or her heart.  It goes on to say that by doing this you will not be sinning against God. You will be surprised to find out how often the memorized verses will come to mind when you are faced with temptations in your life. You always hear people say that it was always easier to memorize something when they were younger and now that they are older in years it is far more difficult to memorize something.  Perhaps it is because our minds are filled with many more worthless things now then when we were younger.  Well, they might not be considered worthless in light of all of the things that we have to do, but they are things that crowd out some more important issues, such as memorizing the Word of God.  If you look for it, you will find the time that you can spend in Bible memorization.  A person can look around them and see examples of wasted time that could have been put to better use.  I A number of years ago, I attended a baseball game and observed a young lady who was on her cell phone for 3 and 1/2 hours.  It didn't seem like a good use of her time. Now, granted, that is a bit much and most people don't spend that much time on the cell phone.  There are other times that you can use for Bible memorization.  All you have to do is use the time that you have wisely.  So, whatever excuse you are using to keep from memorizing God's Word, realize that it not good enough.  Start memorizing a verse today and then another, and another. Repeat the verse several times the first day and then repeat the same verse everyday for the next thirty days. When you get the one verse down, add another and say both verses every day, again, for the next 30 days. Soon, you will discover that you have memorized a verse of Scripture regardless of how old you are. Praise God for His Word.