Keep My Words

Proverbs 7:1-3 (NIV)

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” 

Have you ever written something on your hand to make sure you remember it? Have you ever forgotten about it even though you wrote it on your hand? It is so easy in life to be distracted by the things going on around us that we forget what is really important. When I was a child, my father was determined for us to not just read the Bible but to know it by heart. He would get us to memorise passages and practise reciting them, using the verse I quoted above as his main reason. Despite how much I hated learning them and how much I would protest at the time, those words and truth have now been engraved into my heart in a deeper way. In times when I have struggled, doubted and questioned my life or what I believed, verses that I learnt early in life would come to mind and give me hope, clarity and faith again.

The instructions in these verses were given long before phones, recording devices and, indeed, our Bible existed, which made learning and memorising the words of sacred scrolls essential. However, I believe that it is still relevant and vital in our christian walk to keep God's words embedded in our hearts. This week I want to go through some verses that I have held onto in my life and that have been impactful on my journey: I hope you, too, can reflect on the significant verses in your life that you have kept with you.

Prayer — God, I thank you for your word and the life it brings. Help us to keep it close in our hearts and stand firm in the truth that it brings.