The 2 Biggest Scripture Memory Challenges
Scripture memory is important, but there are so many challenges.
You've been trying and trying to get a better Scripture memory habit, but you keep running into speedbumps. Those speedbumps turn into roadblocks, and suddenly you realize that you haven't worked on a memory verse in weeks.
If I were to ask you what the biggest challenge with Scripture memory is, I bet I could guess. At least, I'd have a 50/50 shot at it.
Are you ready? Odds are, you'd say your biggest challenge is one of these two things: consistency or time.
No, I'm not a mind reader. We sent out a small poll a few weeks ago, and those were the answers, without deviation. So let's do some work.
How to Find Time for Scripture Memory
We've talked about this a bit before, but it bears repeating. It's hard to find time for Scripture memory. I get it, I really do.
Our culture is crazy. We're busier than ever before.
Even in this weird season of COVID having slowed everything to a grinding halt, as things open back up, we seem to be sliding right back into the comfort of crazy.
In fact, it seems easier than ever to avoid the important things with our limited time, because it's easier to find an excuse. Families will go to the park or baseball games or any number of things without a second thought, but suddenly it's too difficult or dangerous to go to church.
That's a blog for another day.
But the mentality carries over to Scripture memory in a few ways.
Think about the things that take up your time on a daily and weekly basis. If you want extra credit, write down a list. Now think about how important those things will be in 10 years. How about 25? 50? 100?
So much that we focus on in the short-term is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme.
Even moreso when we consider our calling as believers.
2 Timothy 1:9 tells us that when we are saved, God "called us to a holy calling."
Take a look at your list and ask yourself the honest question about whether those things are your "holy calling."
We spend hours a week on our lawns, at our kids' extracurricular activities, or watching TV and what do we really have to show for it? How much does our spiritual walk suffer for it?
Imagine someday standing before the throne and the Lord asks you why you didn't spend more time with Him and hiding His word in your heart (like Psalm 119:11 encourages). How silly will it feel to say, "I only read my Bible a few times a week, but look at my lawn!" or "I have John 3:16 down and that's pretty much it, but my kid loved baseball all the way through 4th grade!"
What would the early Christians who gave their lives advancing the Gospel say about the things we claim are unavoidable obstacles to pursuing a deeper faith? Really think about it.
Your homework is to make a list of things that take up your time and really think about how important they are in the grand story of the Gospel. Yeah, your lawn could be awesome, but that's nothing compared to the incredible blessing of building a deep foundation of memorized Scripture. Wouldn't that be worth a few weeds?
How to Build Consistency with Scripture Memory
It's not easy to be consistent with anything. At least for most people. Why do you think the oil change places put those little stickers in the window? We'd never stay on top of it on our own.
Here are a few steps to building that consistent habit you've been looking for. We'll go a little deeper in the Scripture Memory Toolkit, but this will get you off to a great start.
Focus on the why more than the what. Remind yourself and motivate yourself daily by remembering why you want to memorize more Scripture. Whether it's transformation, evangelism, or faith-building (all 3 would be awesome), keep the why in front of you and chase it.
Keep a list of verses and passages you want to memorize. It's one thing to say, "I want to memorize more Scripture," but it's another thing altogether to say, "I'm going to memorize this verse, and then that verse," and so on. Be specific.
Make it a daily habit as much as you can by setting reminders and alarms in your phone (the Verses app does a great job of helping with this). But don't beat yourself up if you miss it. Missing a day isn't a huge deal—just don't make that a habit. It's okay to miss, but live under this mantra: never miss twice.
Find accountability. Gather a group of friends, Sunday school class, or even our Scripture Memory Toolkit Facebook group and commit to memorizing verses and passages together. The power of accountability is often underestimated.
Find the time. To bring it full circle, one of the best ways to build consistency is make intentional time for it. This might mean making sacrifices in other areas of your life. Remember, when you say "yes" to one thing, you're saying "no" to something else. So when you say "no" to Scripture memory, is what you're saying "yes" to really worth it?
What do you think? Is it time for us to begin making Scripture a deeper and bigger part of our lives?
Start with practical steps like these, and you'll be well on your way.
My prayer is for revival as people turn to the Word and to the Lord and truly begin to make spiritual disciplines the priority they should be.
Free Scripture Memory Toolkit
Dive deeper into Bible memory, learn some practical tips and get inspiration and advice, (plus a free audiobook and workbook).
Sign up for the free Scripture Memory Toolkit. Be ready to dive in and memorize more Scripture than you ever thought possible.
This incredible resource is launching on October 1st, so be sure to sign up now and get all the goodies as soon as they drop!
