Last Sunday, we talked about how to hold on to your faith.  One way to do that is by letting the Word of God do its work on you.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us, The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, (ESV). 

When we discussed that verse, I pointed out that God didn’t give us His Word as a textbook to master.  He gave us His Word as a heart surgeon to keep our spiritual hearts soft, pliable and obedient.  He gave us His word to keep us sensitive and responsive to His voice. 

If we allow it to, God’s Word will show us the truth about our own thoughts and intentions.  It will separate our pure motives from our impure ones.  The Word of God will slice apart our self-justifications until there is nothing left but truth.  It will shave off the hardness of our pride and self-centeredness.  It will amputate our unbelief and disobedience.  Obeying God’s Word will prevent our hearts from becoming hard.  It will prevent us from turning away from God and missing out on His rest. 

It was pointed out to me that maybe I should have gone on to say that one of the primary ways of allowing the Word of God to do its work on us is by memorizing it.  On several occasions, I have discussed the very real danger of collecting a bunch of academic knowledge about the Scripture that we allow to stoke our pride, but not to change our lives.  That doesn’t mean that we should not memorize the Word.   Psalm 119:11 says, I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You, (ESV).  That’s memorizing Scripture, but it is also memorizing with a purpose – heart change.

The best way to allow the Word of God to do its work on us is to get it firmly rooted in our minds through reading it, studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it.  The more you understand God’s Word and store in your heart, the more opportunity it has to work on you.  If you have memorized the Word, it can work on you at any time and in any place.  No one can take it from you, even if they take away all your printed and electronic copies of it. 

I firmly believe in memorizing Scripture.  I encourage it.  As you are memorizing it, make sure you understand it, apply it, and allow it to change your life.  Let the Word of God do its work on you.  That’s how you keep your spiritual heart soft, pliable, and obedient.  That’s how you stay sensitive and responsive to God.