memory verses and life

As I was growing up my parents taught me many, many bible verses in the form of songs. Even now, I remember nearly all of those songs and verses. I find this absolutely remarkable, because anyone who knows me well could safely characterize me as absent-minded. I once lost my keys twice in one week. Both times my keys were in the same place, and oddly enough, that place was my purse. Don't ask me how I managed to overlook them when they were right where they were supposed to be, and above all don't ask me how I managed to scour an entire store for AWOL keys and then walk several unnecessary blocks after "locking myself out of my car." Yes, my keys were in my purse the entire time, and yes that is still a painful memory.

All that to say that Matthew 6:33 has been on my mind almost constantly of late. This is a verse that I remember singing out delightedly when I was a little munchkin, and I still remember the tune and the verse now that I am certainly no longer a little munchkin. I really take immeasurable delight in the way memorized verses work. Once you have squirrelled them away in your mind, they are filed away for future reference. And when you face a particular struggle, a relevant verse pops up for application to your situation. Amazing, and I love it!

And that finally brings me to my real point. Let me quote some of that Matthew passage for you:
"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
This is a simple, beautiful command. It is, I think, beautiful because of its simplicity and the childlike trust it requires. But simple as this principle is, it is certainly not easy to abide by. We know that all we have to do is worry about what God wants, and trust that he will take care of all our other needs. In fact, we know that he will bless us richly and abundantly, rather than merely meet our needs.

I have had many opportunities to observe the obedience and disregard of this mandate, both in my own life and in the lives of those around me. When God is brushed aside in our lives, catastrophe is inevitable. When we postpone our devotions for yet another day our spiritual health begins to deteriorate, and other areas of our lives must also suffer. When we begin to focus on the little things in life, rather than letting God consume our lives, we begin to falter and become weary. We were designed to rest in God, and when we fight against that design, we become burned out and discouraged.

On the flip side, when we fill ourselves diligently with God's word and meditate on it continually, we do experience the fullness of God's blessing. When trials come, we have the strength to endure them because we are filled with God. If we are latched on to God's strength, there is nothing that we cannot overcome. Now I'm not saying that if we only do our devotions our lives will be carefree. That is completely unfounded biblically. But if we are filled to the brim with God, we will have the strength to face any trial, and we will be able to fulfill our telos on this earth.

I want to leave you with the image of Peter, who exemplified both obedience and disobedience to this command of utter trust. When he and his fellow disciples were out in their boat in the Sea of Galilee and saw Jesus walking on the water, Peter asked if he could come out to meet his Lord. Picture Peter walking out in the middle of an enormous sea in the dark. If you want, you can even conjure up a bit of a storm in this mental picture. Now if that isn't scary... But we know from the story that as long as Peter focused on Jesus he was okay. God met all of his needs (such as, for example, not drowning) because Peter trusted him to do so. However, as soon as Peter began to worry about his situation, and tried to handle it in his own strength, he began to sink. Likewise, when we begin to focus on the challenges of life, we will falter. But when we focus on Christ, we will make it through anything because he is taking care of all the little things for us. We don't have to worry about them at all, because we are trusting Christ completely to take care of them.

So I challenge you--fill yourself daily with God. Read your Bible, do a Bible study or devotions, sing hymns, meditate on God's greatness. Then go out and act upon your contemplations! The Bible assures us--and I can testify to its truth in this matter--that when we focus on God all our other needs will be met, and we will be blessed even more richly than we can even imagine. Make the kingdom of God your first priority, and everything else will follow. That is a glorious prospect.