1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
I’m sure many of us can remember the first time we either heard, or maybe even memorized this passage. And it’s interesting how extremely familiar words seem to lose their meaning the fastest. You would think that because a person can readily call to mind a truth from Scripture that they’ve had to use that truth in a time of temptation or something, or at least that they know it intimately, for whatever reason.
For some of us, some really hard things may be happening. Things that could be coming straight out of left field, or maybe it’s been snowballing for year and years and it’s just beginning to surface.
In Matthew 4, Jesus is tempted by the Devil himself, and every time he’s tempted he responds with the Word of God. Every time. And he never succumbed. He was sinless. Does this possibly show that not only was he able to recite a passage, but he was able to live it out? Does it show that His understanding of the Scripture surpassed simple memorization?
There’s some very amazing truth in Proverbs 3 that might get lost in our childhood memorization:
Trust in the Lord,
with all your heart.
Trust.
Do not depend on yourself. Depend on God.
Whatever you’re dealing with, talk to God about it. Whatever it is.
He WILL make your path straight.