Keeping it Simple

As the only person in my family who regularly memorizes Scripture, it's especially important for me to stay as self-motivated as possible in my memory work. Knowing that no one I'm especially close to would hold me accountable if I started to slack off in this discipline, I've developed a number of different routines that act somewhat as safeguards against an unintentional hiatus from memorizing Scripture.

The greatest problem I often encounter, however, is my own tendency to overcomplicate things. Being disciplined and relatively self-motivated is by no means a bad thing, but I can also take it to an extreme by creating a rigid set of rules that I cannot possibly live up to a consistent basis. For example, only a few months ago my daily to-do list looked something like this:

• Complete my daily memorization session on memverse.com.
• Review and recite 2-3 complete chapters.
• Take an accuracy or reference recall test on memverse.com.
• Listen to memory verses on my iPod for approximately 30 minutes during my commute to work.
• Learn new verses.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with a routine like this one, and I actually found it to be very effective most of the time. The problem was that anytime an especially busy schedule would keep me from completing every item on that to-do list, I would become discouraged and feel the need to make up the slack the next day. If this wasn't possible I would fall even further behind, become even more discouraged, and struggle to find motivation to keep going at all.

Of course I'm not suggesting you abandon any tried and true routines in your own Scripture memorization. If you have found a certain technique to be successful, then by all means stick with it! After all, developing a systematic approach to Bible memorization is what Scripture Memory Fellowship is all about. Just remember not to complicate the process of "getting back on track" if ever that becomes necessary. If, for example, you had hoped to finish memorizing that new chapter weeks ago, don't link obedience to finishing it by tomorrow night; simply take a step in the right direction by learning a verse or two today, and then maintain a steady pace until you have finished.

Although the enemy would like to keep us distracted by the gap between where we are and where we think we should be, resist the temptation to become discouraged and instead pray for perseverance - both in your Scripture memorization, and in all other aspects of your walk with God. Perhaps you'll find that gap to be smaller than you originally thought.