Focus Our Faith: A Mind Full of the Word

FOCUS ON GOD'S WORD

When we let our minds wander, we often default into negative thinking. One way to override the habit and voice that negative thinking generates is to reprogram what the negative voice is saying. Instead of listening to ourselves talk, we need to talk to ourselves. What should we say? We can choose to focus our attention by telling ourselves the truth of God’s Word. Jesus assures His disciples in John 17:17 that God’s “word is truth” (NIV).

You may ask, “How do I train my attention to focus on the Word of God so that I change my thinking?”

Good news!  You may already have the resources you need. Many Bibles have lists of scriptures for particular categories of needs. Also, there are resources easily accessible online that give citations of God’s scripture verses pertaining to different areas and concerns. You can create your own personal scripture lists.

There are several women in the Bible who learned and pondered God’s Word and then presented it as prayers and songs to Him. Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55, are composed of multiple Old Testament scriptures. Likewise, the writer of Psalm 45 speaks of coming in happy anticipation to the royal throne to “recite my verses to the king” (Ps. 45:1 NIV, my paraphrase). This passage indicates speaking a composition of wonderful truths about the King and His Kingdom. The word for “recite” in this Scripture verse means to speak out what has been previously written.

"My heart is stirred by a noble theme

as I recite my verses for the king;

my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer."

Psalm 45:1 (NIV)

If you wrote a book, for example, and someone interviewed you about it, you would be touched by the devotion of the interviewer if she said, “This is what I loved about your book in chapter 8 where you said, ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’” (Rom. 8:1 NIV, my paraphrase). Her kind words express to you, as the author of the book, that she truly has read it, thought about it, and recalled the exact words by reciting them back to you. How much more wonderful is it that we can recite the Creator of the Universe’s words to Him because He is the One to whom we want to express our love, thanks, and praise?

We can change our lives and show our devotion to God Himself, when we demonstrate how much we love Him by bringing to His attention the verses from His Word on which we are standing. Be encouraged and invigorated by cultivating God’s Word in your life because it brings hope, peace, joy, health, and ability to overcome any situation.

Think of a playlist which you create and use. I recently read of new treadmill workouts that want to “focus on fun” rather than calories burned. The popularity of this concept is the playlist which someone has made for each portion of the workouts. I propose that we can create our own playlist of verses, a “focus our faith” playlist which we learn and recite to the King of kings.

Just as no professional athlete begins their sport at the “pro” level, we are all amateurs as we learn to memorize Scripture. However, we can be encouraged because the word amateur can mean, “for the love of the game.” The more we love God’s Word, the more we will enjoy making it a part of our lives, and we will rejoice by seeing marvelous results for our diligence. We can all become pros at overcoming negative thinking by speaking His Word!

If you wanted to lose weight or develop more muscle, you would most likely find some sort of plan to follow. A plan usually has a pattern, and because three of anything is the shortest grouping in order to develop a pattern, a helpful three-word pattern to implement more of God’s Word in the heart is: Write, recite, and repeat! The more we follow this simple pattern, the better we will feel, and we will find God’s Word filling our thinking, changing how we feel, and determining what we do.

Five Tips for Creating Your Scripture Playlist:

Set a clear goal by writing down the verses/passages you plan to work on. Write with your own hand. Studies have shown that a person’s handwritten notes (rather than digital entries) create deeper learning and better recall.

Purchase a stack of blank white index cards. Write the verses/passages on index card(s) using a permanent fine-tip marker. As you make more and more cards, group them together using a clip, rubber band, spiral binding, or ring.

*Let me add here that you may choose to list verses on your phone; but the reality is that things pop up on phones and we can be easily distracted from our goal of focusing on the Word of God.

Spend time with the passage(s) and keep your cards out where you can see them. This will cue you to use them. Make your cards your companions by carrying them as you do your daily activities such as cooking, driving, walking, working, eating lunch, working out in the gym, relaxing, preparing for bed, etc. Your memory is like a muscle and will grow with use.

Recite the verse(s) out loud. As a verse gets familiar, you will begin to memorize it and will be able to repeat it while quickly looking at the card to check your progress.

Your cards are evidence of your decision to change your thinking by putting God’s Word in your heart. Just as in a workout plan, you check the plan, do the plan, repeat the plan; and by doing so, you gain strength and fitness. In using the cards day after day and year after year, your pattern of writing, reciting, and repeating single verses will increase to an ability to recite passages, chapters, and even books from God’s Word.

". . .Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9