“Why do you need to memorize Scripture?” someone asked me once. And maybe it was me, asking myself.
“Because if you’ve got a Bible, why do you need to memorize it?You can open up the book and read it. Right?”
But when it’s dark, you can’t read always read the words.
Sometimes, in life, the lights go out, and you can’t make out the words anymore. Maybe you’re in a MRI tube, or stranded at the side of the road, or leaning over the edge of your dad’s hospital bed with tears running down both cheeks, or groping through a really hard time that you don’t even want to say out loud and you don’t have the strength to open the book.
Or maybe, you’re a nine-year-old girl from Iowa, and you’re still a little bit scared after the sun goes down. Maybe it’s that kind of dark.
“Mommy?” she whispered after I turned off her bedroom light last night. “You know our verses that we memorized last week, about not being afraid? They’re my favorite verses now.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, settling back down on the edge of her bed. “Because last night, I got really scared when it was dark, and so I said the verses out loud: “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed. For I am your God …” “And I wasn’t scared of the dark anymore.”
Read more encouragement by Jennifer in Why I’m Carrying Spices in My Purse All Year Long
Jennifer Dukes Lee used to cover crime, politics, and natural disasters as an award-winning news journalist in the Midwest. Now, Jennifer uses her reporting skills to chase after the biggest story in history: the redemptive story of Christ. Soon, her words will make their way into her debut nonfiction Christian book, Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need for Approval – and Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes.She and her husband live on the Lee family farm in Iowa with their two daughters. To learn more about the author, please visit Jennifer Dukes Lee
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