"Why read and memorize God’s Word?"
For most Christians who have followed Christ for any number of years, this question may seem elementary. We were taught to hide God’s Word in our hearts early on in our discipleship process. However, it is inevitable that Christians will go through spiritually lazy stages in their lives and the Scriptures that were once held so dear to them at their conversion, now can and do take a back seat to the busyness of life, even for those in full-time ministry. But the most interesting thing about that last statement is that we all know it’s true. We know we can be lazy when it comes to the time we spend alone in God’s Word. But what is just as true, is that many of us have experienced the peace and joy that we received when the effort to be alone with God and His Word is given priority in our lives.
As believers we are taught that our spiritual war is not fought against flesh and blood but against a spiritual enemy that has a great arsenal. Satan fires constantly at us with those things the world loves. These temptations still have appeal to our self-centered and outward desires. This attraction to worldliness strives to charm our pride as the evil one attempts to rob us of our desire for Christ and His Word by placing our priorities on things that will merely pass away. However, God’s Word says that Satan can be resisted if we stand firm in our faith. This God-given faith can be and should be strengthened daily through the means God has provided, namely His Word. The Scriptures remind us that the Bible keeps our direction in life pure, meaning His Word gives us clear paths to follow and keeps us from wandering. This constant treasuring of God’s Word protects the believer from sin and allows a holy God to provide blessing in our lives that stimulates joy and worship. The Word of God frees our lips to sing the praises of our Lord and Savior because we have been dwelling on Him as we read and meditate on His truths. The world’s riches seem much less attractive and now delighting in God’s truth dominates our thinking and provides direction throughout the day.
The wonderful thing about the Scriptures is that they always lead us back to Jesus. Christ Himself told His disciples that all of God’s Word was about Him and as we properly search the Word of God, one should find himself thinking of our Lord and Savior. This is what it means to let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, giving you wisdom, instruction, and even admonishing where needed so that the Bible becomes to you and I a book of thanksgiving and praise as well as doctrine and instruction.
So it’s time once again to immerse ourselves in the life-giving truth of God’s Word. For some this means reestablishing good old habits of daily feeding on God’s truth. For others, this may be the first time you are establishing this new spiritual discipline. Whatever the case, don’t hold back; jump in with both feet and continually ask the Spirit of God to strengthen you and give you the spiritual discipline you need to develop this daily routine of immersing yourself in the perfect, soul-reviving, Savior-praising pattern of reading God’s Word.
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