Whom Have I but You?
By Shirley Mitchell
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
Yeah! It is Tuesday. We get our verse of the week to mediate and memorize. I want to encourage you to keep trying to focus on just one verse for the week. If you stay determined, the word will take root in your heart. If you have failed with some of the previous verses, don’t get discouraged and quit, but continue to press on. This spiritual discipline is worth pressing through our failure! So free yourself of guilt and let’s go! For those of you who are just joining us, we dedicate Tuesdays to focusing on just one verse for the next week.
This week’s verse is from the psalms. Actually, it’s a psalm of Asaph. It says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Through the question, “Whom have I in heaven but you,” he is saying, “You are all I have! Everyone else may leave me. They may let me down. They make turn their backs on me. They may belittle me, mock me, and threaten me. Others may not come through for me. They won’t be there in my time of need or their strength and power is insufficient.” Through the declaration, “and earth has nothing I desire besides you,” the psalmist is declaring that there is nothing in this earth world that is first in his desires. His desire for everything else pales in comparison. He doesn’t want power, possessions, prestige, fortune, friends, or fame. All of those things hold no value in comparison to the worth of having a relationship with the one true living God!
Oh, wow, does this encourage me! I’ve got some things going on in my life that are God-sized problems. No one on earth can help me. I can’t even help myself. He’s all I got and frankly, He’s all I want. Additionally, there is nothing like knowing our God. He satisfies my soul. He cares for me like no one can. He is my counselor, and He is always right. He loves me unconditionally no matter what I do. He’s all I got, and He’s all I want!
So let’s focus on this verse for the next week. Carry it with you wherever you go this week. Study it, memorize it, and pulverize it!
Memorization Reminders:
Please join me in memorizing these verses and implanting God’s thoughts into our minds. I’m expecting for God to radically change our lives if we do this. Redeem your time to make room for memorizing God’s Word. Take this verse with you wherever you go. Meditate on it, and pulverize it.
We are blessed to live in a time where we can have the Bible at our fingertips even through the internet or an actual Bible in our hands. Yet, this blessing can become a curse if we do not treat the Bible with such honor to savor every word of it as those through the centuries who have longed to have His Word so much. They had to memorize every Scripture they had ever been given because their own copy of the Scripture was not possible.
Most of us probably don’t memorize Scripture because we think that we do not have the time. However, our minds have a lot of wasted space that can be given to God. We have to redeem the time. For women, we can use the time while putting on our make-up or blow drying our hair. For men, use the time while shaving. For both genders, we can use the time while we shower, stop at red lights, do the laundry, wash the dishes, and mow the lawn. Let’s face it: our minds are thinking about something during this time. Instead of being focused on our obsessions, worries, cares, to-do’s, and problems, give this time to God.
Take your verse(s) with you wherever you go. You can type your verse out and put it on beautiful sheets of your choice. You can write it out on index cards. Many people prefer index cards spiral bound to keep them together. For iphone users, I’m sure there is an app. You can write it on your iphone notepad or record your voice speaking it and replay it throughout the day.
Now that we have the verse and we have found the time, let’s focus on the method. We don’t just memorize it by saying it over and over; we meditate on it. We spend time thinking about what each word means and what it doesn’t mean.
Then one of my favorite techniques as taught by Waylon Moore is to pulverize the verse. Say the verse over and over each time focusing on a different word in the verse. For example, say Psalm 73:25 (today’s verse) aloud and say with more umph the underlined and bolded word:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Psalm 73:25
Repeat this process until each word in the verse has been emphasized.
After meditating and pulverizing the verse continuously for a week, the seed planted in our hearts will begin to germinate. You and I will no longer be merely short-term memorizing, but the Word will dwell within us. When God’s Word dwells within us, something miraculous happens. Our minds are renewed and transformed into the mind of Christ. We worry and fret less. We are armed for the attacks of the enemy. Our lips will be full of praise for our God. My friend, I’m ready for that kind of transformation!