Three years ago dear Husband and I were distraught over our sixteen-year-old granddaughter’s sudden illness and its bleak prognosis.  While she was being transported to another hospital for emergency surgery, we texted Husband’s brother who loves the Lord.  We asked him to pray for her.  Here is what he texted back to us:

Psalm 65:5-8, “You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.”

[Husband’s brother’s personal prayer for us]  “Father, the seas and waves are roaring and turmoil abounds. Thank You that this is far from Your first rodeo. Thank You that we can be confident that You will work Your awesome works of righteousness and power, and the result will be Your praise, and our joy.”

The rest of the story is that we forwarded his text to our worried daughter before our granddaughter’s surgery.  This is the text she sent us later.

 “That text you sent from Uncle K that said that this isn’t God’s first rodeo, when we went down into the surgical unit there was a sign above the main hallway that said, ‘Rodeo Drive’.  It made me feel so much better.  I was telling K [her sick daughter/our granddaughter] about it and I didn’t realize the nurse was listening.  She gasped and said, “Oh wow!  See, he’s looking out for you.”

When I recently asked Husband’s brother the backstory to his text, he explained that every morning he reads a Psalm or a Proverb.  He reads one chapter in order from Psalm 1 to Proverbs 31 each day.  That’s enough for six months of daily reading. After he reads the chapter, he prays that God would help him choose some verses from the chapter that will help the ten people he sends a daily Scripture text to.  He then picks out about 5-7 verses, adds a prayer, and sends his text.

Of course, he couldn’t remember if that Psalm was the day’s chapter when we were hurting over our granddaughter. But it’s clear that he habitually fills his mind and heart with Scripture and that he has a habit of prayer year in and year out.  When someone is in need, Scripture tumbles out to comfort and strengthen them. I’m grateful.  And so is the ex-convict who ‘accidentally’ got in on the texts of the daily verses!  Some of the daily text recipients forward the verses and prayer to their friends and relatives.  One man was forwarding the Scriptures to his grandson- or so he thought.  One day he got a text back, “Who are you?  I keep getting verses from you.”  The man apologized and explained that he was meaning to send it to his grandson.  He then promised to stop sending them.  “Oh, no!  Please don’t stop sending them!  I was just released from prison and that’s the only thing that’s grounding me each day.”  A friendship ensued.

Want to keep Scripture top of mind so you’ll be ready when you or someone else needs comfort, strength, or encouragement?  Read it every day. Here’s a hint:  You’ll have to schedule time to read the Bible, otherwise, it won’t happen.  All of us set aside time to do certain things at certain times of the day.  We bathe, we sleep, we work.  Most of us eat on a schedule even if it’s a flexible one.  We eat in the morning.  We eat sometime during the day, and we eat at the end of our workday. Why not form the habit of feeding your soul at regular times?  

I’m trying a new method to get more Scripture into my mind and heart.  Dear Husband reads a passage out loud after breakfast.  Later I try to recall what he read and I jot down a few keywords or an idea from the passage.  I try to remember a verse or part of a verse and write it down.  I’m keeping these notes in front of me during the day by writing this on my day planner page which I refer to during the day to check off my To Do’s.  

Let things you see and hear direct your thoughts to Scripture.  Take a few minutes to watch a beautiful sunset and marvel at the heavens declaring God as Creator.  Let a friend’s heartache drive you to find comfort in the Scriptures.  Allow current events to push you into searching. (I really need the comfort of knowing God is in control like Scripture says!  And I definitely need an anchor for my soul in these turbulent times.)  Often when I’m enjoying the beauty of nature I think about what the new earth will be like that Isaiah and Revelation talk about.  I figure if this broken world is so beautiful, how amazing will the perfect new earth be?!  If a verse comes to mind, but you can’t remember it clearly, look it up on an online app called Bible Gateway which makes it easy to find verses with word look-up.  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search

Talking about the Bible with other believers keeps it fresh in our minds.  Join a small group Bible study for a structured approach.  And in daily life, don’t be afraid to mention a spiritual topic. It’s fine to bring up the Bible in normal conversation.  In fact, just this afternoon a friend dropped by and was standing in the kitchen with Husband when he brought up a passage he’d been reading. How often I’ve gotten a new perspective on a Bible story hearing someone else’s comments!  I love it when I catch snatches of conversations going on around me after church or at the local coffee shop where folks are mentioning things from the Bible in the course of conversation. It doesn’t have to be awkward.  If you’ve been feeding your heart and mind with Scripture, it’ll just overflow in conversation and it’ll help the listener.  You don’t have to be ‘preachy’, just honestly share what you’ve been learning when the occasion arises.  And be humble enough to listen to others.  We can always learn something new even when we think we already know that Bible story.  

A surefire way to keep Scripture top of mind is to accept responsibility to teach.  I’m ‘forced’ to stay in the Scriptures because of this blog. Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, Awana leaders and so many other teachers are faithful to study the Scriptures because they have the responsibility of passing God’s Word on to others.

Recap:
Make reading the Scriptures a daily habit.
Talk about the Scriptures with other believers both in structured gatherings and everyday conversations.
Learn from others humbly.
If God gives you the job of teaching, diligently apply yourself to studying the Scriptures.

PS. The surgery was successful and our granddaughter didn’t have cancer.  Thankful that God our Savior, still answers with awesome deeds and still calls forth songs of joy!