What I Learned Memorizing the Book of James
Two months ago I took on the personal challenge of seeing if I could memorize the first chapter of James. I was preparing to start a new sermon series in this book and thought it would be a good discipline to commit the beginning words of James to memory. After memorizing the first chapter over the next couple of weeks, I decided to keep going and entered into chapter two. This time I was able to memorize the second chapter in just one week. And then a new thought entered my mind: What if I memorized the whole book?
Now Scripture memorization has never been a strength of mine. Up to this point, the most I had ever memorized was a full chapter (Genesis 1 and 1 Timothy 1) but a whole book seemed daunting if not impossible. But with two chapters already memorized, it actually seemed like it might be possible. And so every day I would add more and more to my memory. It become a daily passion. And within six weeks of my initial thought of memorizing one chapter, I had memorized all five chapters. Yesterday, in our launch of the new sermon series on the book of James, I recited the whole book from memory. You can watch here. (The James monologue begins at the 14-minute mark.)
The whole experience over these last couple months has been exciting and enjoyable, and I wanted to take a moment and reflect on what I learned through memorizing the book of James.
- It IS possible to memorize large portions of Scripture.
Before memorizing James, I would have said that I could never memorize a whole book. My reason would have been that I just don’t have a mind for retaining large amounts of content by memory. But this experience taught me that it is possible. Too often we do not pursue things because we have already determined that we cannot do them. This process with James has broken down some of my own self-imposed barriers. I have already started to think about the next book of the Bible that I want to memorize. These were not thoughts I was thinking before this experience. - There is great joy in having Scripture constantly running through your mind.
Every day for two straight months I had the words of James always on my mind. Many mornings I would wake up and read through the whole book and then throughout the day be reciting from memory the chapters that I knew. The words of James became a constant companion. It often made me think about the words of Psalm 1 that talks about meditating on God’s law day and night. Our heart is shaped by what we set our thoughts on. And I definitely experienced the joy of being shaped by the continual flow of God’s Word through my mind. - Memorizing the whole book made the words very personal.
By the time I had memorized all five chapters and was regularly reciting the whole book in my mind, the words of James were no longer passages and verses, they were very personal words. I found myself thinking about the personal nature of these words written by a real person inspired by a real, living God for the benefit of real Christians walking through real trials. The words were implanted in my heart like a letter from a friend rather than “Bible verses.” I will probably never read the book of James the same. It has brought new life and new understanding to these five chapters. - I experienced regular encouragement and conviction.
By spending time every day memorizing and memorizing, I was confronted every day with the “living and active” truth of God. I was memorizing not just words from a textbook but the very words of God that are useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training. These words that were constantly on my mind were being used to encourage, convict and transform me as my mind was renewed according to His truth. In casual conversations, the words of James would come to mind. As I wrestled with spiritual thoughts, the words of James would come up. I was experiencing the active work of the Word of God in my life. - I developed greater understanding of the whole letter.
By regularly reading and reciting the entire book over and over and over, I began to see the book as a whole and not just individual verses or passages. I gained a greater understanding of James’s whole purpose and reason for writing. Too often when we study a book of the Bible we can become focused on one section, losing its connection with the greater reason for writing. By engaging it as a whole, I was not thinking about it in terms of chapters and verses but themes. It definitely prepared me to now begin to teach verse-by-verse through the individual sections of the letter as I am now truly rooted and anchored in the whole message of the letter in a new and fresh way.I have truly been encouraged and strengthened by this experience. And one of my hopes throughout this process is that it would encourage others to consider memorizing larger portions of Scripture. There is great joy in being in a season where you are daily memorizing and memorizing God’s Word so that you are thinking about it morning, day and night. Attempting to memorize a whole book can seem so intimidating that we don’t even start. I was certainly in that place. But I never would have considered memorizing five chapters if I hadn’t started with at least one chapter. Would you consider finding one chapter to begin to memorize? Maybe you will surprise yourself and end up memorizing the whole book.