You’ve likely heard this Q & A:
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.
I don’t know why you’d want to eat an elephant but that’s not usually the point (unless you find yourself starving in Africa). This Q & A is used when faced with a large task. As toddlers, we didn’t just start walking one day—we literally took baby steps. If I wanted to run a marathon (which I don’t!) I would start small and train regularly. Over time I could do it if I set small goals.
My most recent “elephant” is memorizing Scripture. I heard a lady named Janet Pope on the radio who has memorized 14 books of the Bible along with 121 individual chapters. I can hardly fathom knowing chapters of the Bible much less whole books! I was amazed because I usually have trouble memorizing one verse. The Bible study I teach has a segment each week for the children to memorize a verse or two of Scripture but usually they get it much more quickly than I.
While any Scripture memory is good, Janet suggested that sometimes memorizing one verse at a time can be dangerous because it’s out of context. Then we try to apply it to our lives in a specific situation and can be disappointed or disillusioned.
Janet’s method of memorizing Scripture is fairly simple. She writes out the passage on index cards that have a spiral. She then carries the little book with her everywhere she goes. You can go over a verse while doing simple tasks (like ironing), while waiting in line, sitting in traffic or any other time your mind is idle throughout the day. Her method is to memorize one verse a day. Memorizing a chapter or a book is just memorizing one verse at a time—it simply takes longer (eating an elephant).
The other important aspect is review. Many people memorize passages but as time goes by it’s gone. I memorized 1 Corinthians 13 years ago and couldn’t quote it today.
This task really challenged me so I decided to try it. Janet recommended starting with a small chapter like Psalm 1 or Psalm 121. Psalm 1 has 6 verses and, with God’s help, I memorized it in 5 days! I couldn’t believe it. What a blessing it has been to review over and over. It has really forced me to meditate on God’s word and it has gotten into my heart. You never know when God will bring Scripture to mind when you need it most.
I’m praying that someone reading this will be challenged to also hide God’s word in their heart as I was.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 (NIV)
My next “elephant”? The Book of Philippians.
Have a great day!