Scripture Memory {Verse 3}

I have been keeping up with memorizing my verses, even though I am late on posting about them. For verse #3, I decided to keep it short and sweet. Even though this verse is fairly short, it's still very powerful. Every time I read it, I wish I had memorized it sooner. I can think of so many past instances in my life where I truly could have used this verse. However, it's better late than never and I'm glad that I found my way to it eventually.

P.S. - In case you missed the explanation on what I am doing here...short version: I'm memorizing 24 bible verses this year in order to help me get more into the gospel and grow spiritually. Long version: Read my blog post about it here.

My third memory verse for 2015 is Romans 12:12...

This verse has three distinct instructions that I need a lot of help reminding myself of on a daily basis. Be joyful in hope. It's really easy to lose hope when things aren't going your way, but it is essential to remind ourselves to have hope and to be joyful in all of the blessings that we do have. If we only dwell on the bad things in our lives, then we will all be miserable. Been there, done that. It sucks. If we focus more on the hope of what is to come and being joyful in the possibilities of what God has in store for us tomorrow, we will be much happier and life will be a lot more fun!

Patient in affliction. This one might be the most difficult of all...for me at least. When something is not going the way I want it to, I am so impatient. I want the "bad time" to be over as soon as possible (obviously), but sometimes these things take time and we have to wait. The best example of this in my life was when I was struggling with my infertility. I made myself miserable every single day because I was so pissed off that I wasn't pregnant yet. I basically missed out on enjoying two years of my life because I was so focused on wanting my infertility to end. Looking back, I now realize that God was going to take care of me...in His time. I probably would have been a much happier person if I had just been more patient with God during that difficult time. I should have been more joyful in the hope of what he had in store for me, which turned out to be Peyton...my greatest blessing of all.

Faithful in prayer. I'm getting better at this one. Have you ever noticed how we tend to go to God last with all of our problems? We try every which way to fix things on our own until we are completely out of options and then we finally turn to God once we are exhausted and ready to give up. It's probably best to go to Him first, don't you think? Since the outcome is ultimately up to Him anyways? You might as well cut out all of that extra effort, worrying and distress and go right to the source from the beginning. I used to be one of those people who would basically make myself miserable over something that was bothering me and then maybe think about praying for it, if I had nowhere else to turn to. I'm currently working on going to God first with everything, the good and the bad. I ask Him for help and guidance, praise Him for something good, or even just vent about something that's irritating me. Even if my prayer isn't answered right away, I at least feel better about the situation and I am able to be more patient in the interim.

Overall, this verse is a perfect one for me to memorize because it serves as a good reminder of what I need to do when I'm faced with a difficult situation. Instead of just getting pissed off right away and freaking out, I can stop myself and remember to stay hopeful because God has got my back, be patient and wait for Him, and always go straight to prayer as my first line of defense.