A Word Spoken in Due Season

Chances are, at some point in each of our lives, we've been on the receiving end of "a word spoken in due season." Whether you were encouraged by the faithfulness of a friend who had the perfect word at the perfect moment, or were convicted by a sermon that said exactly what you needed to hear, few feelings are greater than knowing the God of the universe just made sure you received the exact message you were in need of at that moment. In my own experience, this realization of divine providence is often more encouraging than what was actually said in the first place.

One of the countless benefits of memorizing Scripture, especially memorizing by topic, is that we're putting ourselves in a position to be used by God as the speaker of that word in due season. Rather than merely being able to share our opinions when asked by others for advice, we are able to quote the very words of God as they apply to that situation. The promises of comfort to the broken (2 Cor. 1:3-4), provision to the poor (Matt. 6:30), and salvation for the sinner (Rom. 10:13) are always available for the Holy Spirit's use as He may lead.

It's this realization that my memory verses have the potential to change lives that causes me to slow down and truly consider the message of what I'm studying - even if it's a verse I'm already very familiar with. What does it mean? Does it apply to a specific topic I might be discussing soon? Although it's sometimes easy to rush through your memory work as just another part of your daily routine, try your best to imagine all of the possible ways a particular passage might become an appropriate piece of a larger conversation and "file" it away in memory under that category. Just as no one would "light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand" (Matt. 5:15), the Scripture we memorize is put to its best possible use when shared with others as "a word spoken in due season."