8 reasons why . . .
- It’s an easy one.
- I won’t be alone.
- It puts positive thoughts in my head.
- It honors God.
- It’s only 6 weeks but lasts a lifetime.
- It’s good for my soul.
- It makes me more aware of God’s presence.
- It strengthens my faith.
Why do I want to memorize a chapter in the Bible? And why Isaiah 12 in particular?
These are only 8 reasons. There are more. But these are enough.
My brain is a messy place. I want to plant more truths in there, and dig out harmful lies.
The six verses in this song by Isaiah remind me of these facts . . .
- God isn’t angry with me.
- I can trust God.
- Fear doesn’t control me.
- God frees, not enslaves me.
- I find happiness in God.
- God is worth telling others about.
- God is great right here, right now.
So this week I pray about re-memorizing Isaiah 12 more firmly (long ago I knew it) for six weeks this fall. I want it to be a time of intense dwelling on these thoughts of God and about God and with God.
If this stirs something in you, too (maybe yes, maybe no—no judging either way!), I invite you to pray also.
We can do it together with the group that will gather at Do Not Depart and Hide His Word on Facebook. Get the details here.
Registration opens August 31 at Do Not Depart, and memorizing officially begins September 14, one verse per week.
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For 8 more reasons to memorize Isaiah 12, read this at Do Not Depart.
Has a memorized scripture helped you in the past? Which one? Please share in the comments.
I have something approaching an eidetic memory, but have never gotten comfort from memorizing Scripture (or anything else).
It might be that having had to use memory as a very specific tool coarsened the appreciation of things memorized…I don’t know, but I do envy those who can enjoy it.
Isn’t an eidetic memory what Sheldon has (if you watch The Big Bang Theory)? I’d think it would come in quite handy. I definitely don’t have one. I do well to memorize my few words and retain them only if I review. But it does bring me strength to be able to recall them at just the right time when needed. Everyone is different in what helps.
Psalm 37:1-7 are my go to verses. I pounded a nail in verse 5 long ago.
Psalm 37:5 is a powerful verse. I once tried to memorize the whole of Psalm 37. I have retained practically none of it, but the time spent in it was worthy nonetheless.
Hi Lisa! I always remember the plea “Be with my Lord when I am in trouble, Be with me Lord I pray.” King David always seems to express my own feelings and confusion.
Isaiah is one of my favorite prophets too. A fiery guy, but so faithful, and so filled with prophesy. I can see why you’d want to commit his words to memory.
Monday blessings,
Ceil
Yes, David has spoken for SO many of us for thousands of years now, me included. I’m so thankful we have the Psalms, too. Isaiah is definitely a fiery guy. I love some of his writings, and have great trouble with others of them. ha. But this small chapter is one of my favorites of his.
You know I’ll be right there with you, my sweet friend, committing to the memory of my heart the precious words from Isaiah 12. They are powerful verses and as with every other chapter I’ve learned, this one is definitely one that is going to meet a need in my life. due to some things currently going on around here. 🙂
Love you, Lisa! xo Dianna
Yay! This is great news to me to hear that you will be joining us again, Dianna. Of course I was hoping that you would. It’s always a blessing to learn alongside you because I know you handle every verse carefully and are so attentive to what the Lord is teaching you through it.
Memorization seems much more difficult for me now than when I was younger. I can memorize readily enough, but I don’t seem to retain it was well long-term.
I am so thankful my mother encouraged me to learn scripture as a youngster! Those I can still recall and I still meditate on.
Blessings to you, Lisa, in your study of God’s word.
Yep, those verses we learned as a child are the ones that seem to be the stickiest. And for me those usually happen to be in the good ol’ KJV. 😉
It amazes me that huge swaths of memorized Scripture from childhood in perfect King James English, still emerge from my head to my heart. Sometimes bidden, but often simply Spirit led.
The sooner we can do this memorization bit, the richer are lives are for it. I guess it’s never too late to start?
“Sometimes bidden, but often simply Spirit led.”
Beautifully spoken, Linda. I totally agree. And I also agree that it’s never too late to start. Even old minds can learn new words. 🙂
Oh, Lisa…I love Isaiah. I shall take a peek at chapter 12, listening for God’s voice as I pray.
I’m glad you love Isaiah, too, Linda. There’s such justice language in there that really appeals to me more and more, as we read and learn and do more and more. I listened to an NPR re-broadcast today of Bryan Stephenson’s interview. So moving.
Oh – yes – memorizing scripture has helped and reminds me He is there – right there with me! I’ll try – Lisa – to memorize! It was much easier when I was younger!
Awesome, Maryleigh! This chapter is a great one to jump into. I’m with you–it helps make his presence even more real to me.
I’m wrapping up a passage in 1 Peter now, but I think I’ll be joining you. Thanks for the invitation. I’ll look forward to working on a passage with others.
So excited to know you’ll be joining us, Natalie! I’ll post more details over the next few Mondays.
Oh how I long to incorporate scripture memory back into my life. As a child and college student I memorized a lot of scripture and when a Bible study calls for it I participate but I’ve not made it a regular practice. I really want to be a part of this group. I’m in a slammed season of life right now but I want God’s word rooted in me and nothing helps his word go deeper than to have it memorized and practiced daily. So I’m really gong to give this some thought. Thanks for the invite.
One of the beautiful things about this challenge is that it’s going to be only one verse per week, and it’s only 6 weeks. Hopefully that will make it doable for those like you who are in a busy stage of life. So glad you’re interested, Melody!
Lisa, I would love to go back and relearn what I used to know as well as add to it. I used to read primarily one translation which made it easier to remember. I love having many available now to compare, but I know I’ve allowed trying to choose the right one to be an excuse for not spending time memorizing again. Thanks for the encouragement!
I know exactly what you mean about the translation dilemma, Debbie! I felt that way for awhile too. So I finally just decided I’d go with ESV by default so I would no longer have to decide each time. ha. Unless I feel a strong pull to choose another version. But I do still hear previous versions in my head if it’s a familiar passage, so if I want to memorize those, it’s essentially re-memorizing. Oh well. I could have worse problems, right? 🙂
Lisa,
So glad you’re doing this….I’m still working on Psalm 27 and a few other verses…I want to join you but I don’t know as I feel a bit scattered with my other studies…many blessings to you as you continue to inspire me and others 🙂
The season may not be right for you for this one, Dolly; there will always be more down the road when the time is right. Psalm 27 has become one of my go-to chapters in my head these days. I just love it and use it over and over!
A short chapter but oh, so powerful. I especially love verse 2. I love the facts these verses remind you of. Thank you, Lisa.
Yes, it’s definitely a power-packed chapter. Not many short ones like this in the prophets. ha. I know the chapter divisions are all man-made anyway, but it’s still nice to find one they divided like this. 🙂
Good for you, Lisa. What a way to honor God and bring peace into your soul. The last time I memorized scripture was when you did the one verse at a time exercise on Sundays I believe. That was awesome.
I believe that was Isaiah also. I keep coming back to Isaiah for some reason…. Good stuff! Thanks for your encouragement, Floyd.
Lisa, I’m following along with Beth Moore’s scripture memory process. The older I get, the worse my memory has become. So I’m challenging this old brain of mine to memorize a passage of scripture every two weeks! I’m determined to bury His word in my heart. Joining you today from #RaRalinkup!
I’ve heard such good things about the Beth Moore memory process. Good for you, Ellen! My memory is definitely worse as I age too. But at least we’re still trying, right? 🙂 The way I see it, even if we don’t retain everything word for word, we’re still spending time with the Lord and his Word digs deeper and stays longer than our memory anyway.
What a pretty passage of scripture. When you said Isaiah, I initially thought it must be a crazy-long chapter, but six verses I could surely do without being a dropout. 🙂 I’m in. 🙂
Yay! Glad you’re in, Brenda! Who knew there was a 6-verse chapter in Isaiah. ha. But it’s packed full. I’ll keep posting details here as we release them at Do Not Depart.
Thank you for this reminder that He is GREAT in our midst!
Isn’t that a wonderful gift? His presence is a difference-maker. I only wish I could retain that truth more in my conscious awareness 24/7.