Devotion: Using those Truths that were memorized

"Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path." Psalm 119:105

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I leaned back in my seat as we drove away from my nephew's birthday party and sighed. "You know what would be great for dinner, tonight?" I asked my husband. "Steak, potatoes, and a side salad," I sighed. My oldest son perked up in the backseat. "Mooooom. 'Resist temptation,'" he quoted to me. His quoting of 2 Timothy 2:22 lead us to a discussion about the difference between temptation and enjoying things God has given to us. It was the second time that week my 7-year-old had quoted scripture to me. Not only did he quote it, but he was using the scripture in regular everyday conversation. The other time he quoted Galations 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control". He was telling me a story as was taking for-ev-er, and I told him so. "Patience, mom. It's a fruit of the spirit, and you need to use it with me. You have been a Christian a long time, and should already know this." Well. I was put in my place. Not only was he using scripture, but he was using it correctly to remind me of God's Truths.

I got to thinking about that a little later. My son had suddenly hit a new phase of learning and understanding scripture. For the past few years, we have been working on studying scripture and memorizing verses. Lately, I have been using Keys for Kids [for you old school peeps, remember Adventures in Odyssey? Same people] for their morning devotions. It takes only about 5 minutes to hear the story, get a key Bible verse, and get a lesson for the day. They have then been writing their prayers or thoughts in a journal [or drawing a picture] for about 5 minutes before they head on to school. I'm not sure if it's the journaling or if it's God's voice, but at some point my son made the transition from just listening to stories and memorizing scripture, to being able to actually use the scripture through the day. I was reminded of Proverbs 22:6 "Start children off the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." I'm not tooting my horn here, because God gets all the glory, but it sure is awesome to see God working through my kids.

Here are the boys journaling before school. See the notecards on the wall? That's where I place the key verses we are covering during the week. After each week, the kids asked I hang the verses in their room. Of course. :} 

Then it lead to me. All that Bible studying I do, all the preparations I do for Sunday School, all the devotions I blog about, how many of those verses have I actually memorized? And not only have I memorized, but how many come to mind when I go through my daily walk? My son set a great example for me. Does that mean I need to go around spouting scripture in every conversation I have? Not necessarily, but what it does mean is how often do I hear God's Word that is hidden in my heart? When I get frustrated with my kids, does scripture come to mind to be patient? When I am running out of money in the grocery budget, does scripture come to mind to trust God will take care of my family? When I am with a bunch of my lady friends, do I remember the scripture about not gossiping?

If scripture does not come to mind:
Am I just memorizing it to check it off my daily list?
Am I close enough to God to see His Truths in every situation?
Am I truly leading by example?

My goal this week is to see God's Word in every situation. When things are going well, I am going to work on remembering verses of praise. When I am tempted, I am going to work on remembering scripture that will  remind me to do what is right in God's eyes, and not the world's eyes. When I am angry, I pray God will remind me to have patience and love for those whom my anger is directed.

If I want to grow as a Follower of Christ, I must truly make God's Word a light onto my path so I can see where He wants me to go.