HOW TO BE READY
Kendra Intihar
Today's Scripture: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4b, ESV
Theme: Prepare for “pivotal moments” by spending time reading God’s Word.
LEARNING LEADS TO INSTINCT
In Sully, the movie we watched this week, Sully experienced a dramatic series of moments where he needed to rely on his good instincts and training to take over in one of the most memorable emergency events in recent history. Sully saved the lives of everyone aboard flight 1549, not because he had a user-manual in his glovebox, but because he had put in thousands of hours of learning and practice before he needed to use the training.
PREPARE FOR LIFE’S PROBLEMS
When my oldest daughter was little, there was a band called “Pop Scripture” that set verses of Scripture to music. One of my friends gave me their CD, and we played it in the car constantly. Pop Scripture songs weren’t part of the Contemporary Christian Music genre, they were just Bible verses set to catchy tunes; no extra words, no extra fluff. Just one verse per song. It was the best Bible memorization tool I’ve ever encountered, and I wish they were still making new music.
One night during our Pop Scripture listening era, when my daughter was around seven years old, she was having trouble sleeping. She was awakened by a nightmare and told me she was scared. I prayed for her and reassured her before quoting one of her verse songs: “But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7.” And then do you know what she recited right back to me? At seven years old? Another verse song: “I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm Chapter 4, verse 8.”
Thanks to our oft-played CD, she had memorized these two verses that the Holy Spirit was then able to use for her good. She calmed herself in knowing that her Creator had given her a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind, and that knowledge was the peace she needed to sleep again. It may be less dramatic and less broadly consequential than Sully’s life-saving instincts in this week’s movie, but the principle of preceding practical application with preparation is the same.
PRACTICING IS PREPARING
The Bible is not meant to be a forgotten user manual that we keep in our glovebox so we can pull it out when we need to practically apply it. It is Scripture that is supposed to “dwell in us richly” (Colossians 3:16) and be “stored in our hearts” (Deuteronomy 11:18). This means that we are meant to be immersed in the Word of God, meditating on it so that it grafts into the core of who we are. When we become people who practice the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading and Scripture memorization, our difficult moments give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to call to mind the words which we have “hidden in our hearts” (Psalm 119:11), and the peace that passes all human understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
Make it Personal: How did a deep knowledge of Scripture prepare Jesus for His temptation in the desert? (See Matthew 4:1-11). Scripture memorization takes less time than you think. We will have many opportunities to embrace uncertainty in the coming months. Let’s prepare our hearts for that by meditating on God’s call to be not afraid. I invite you to memorize this verse of Scripture with me this week: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4, CSB)
Pray: Lord, prepare my heart, mind, and body for the challenges that will inevitably come my way. Help me to carve out daily time spent with You, reading Your Word, and hiding Scripture in my heart so that You can call it to mind in my moments of need. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Psalm 37:31; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16
Weekly Memory Verse: “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” Luke 5:16, NLT