Hard Work

The two most common misconceptions I seem to encounter when discussing Scripture memorization with others is that those who promote it either have extraordinary memories, or have discovered some special trick that makes the process easy. As I have shared before, I myself avoided Scripture memorization for years based on a similar belief that my own memory just wasn’t good enough to take on such a challenge. After all, I was the type of person who was (and still is) bad with names. Even to this day I keep a GPS in my car at all times, as my inability to keep a map in my head has gotten me lost in my own neighborhood more times than I’d care to admit.

I won’t say that Scripture memorization never gets any easier, because my experience has been that it does become less of a challenge once you’re able to identify your unique learning style. For example, once I realized how much I depend on the spoken word I started implementing audio review as much as possible. This cut down on the time I had to spend reviewing older verses and was a much more effective approach for me overall. It also seems that the brain is just like any other muscle in that it becomes stronger with continued use, meaning you may find memorization easier after a few months of practice even without making specific changes to your methodology.

But in spite of these facts, even the best memorizers I know will admit that learning a new verse is hard work and something that requires intense concentration. So what makes these people good memorizers? It’s not that they’ve been gifted with prodigious memories, but that they have fixed their eyes on the “joy that is set before them” – namely, God’s Word. They count the rewards of “great peace” (Ps. 119:165), happiness (Ps. 19:8), and “good success” (Josh. 1:8) to be worth any difficulty they encounter.

Having cherished passages of God’s Word in your memory bank is not something that happens by accident; it's a goal you must aim at and diligently strive for. Then when you are able to recite your favorite chapter or encourage a friend with a heavenly promise, you will recognize these rewards as the interest earned on one of the best investments you could ever make.