Good for the Heart

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees.  I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us.  I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches.  I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.  I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. (Psalm 119:11-16)

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”  ~vs. 11

What does it mean to hide God’s Word in our hearts?  This verse is so vital to the life of a Christian, so let’s break it down.

First, what kind of things do we hide in life?  We hide two kinds of things in our lives:  things that our treasures which we do not want anyone to take from us and things that we are ashamed of that we never want anyone to see.  Well, hiding God’s Word in our heart is a treasure and it brings light to those things that we are ashamed of.  If we only read God’s Word like a novel, comic book, newspaper, or some other piece of information it will be stored temporarily in our minds.  Here today, but gone tomorrow. God asks us to store it up in our hearts, which means we need to meditate on it.  We need to dig into it with the tools we have been given.  If you don’t understand a word, look it up in a dictionary.  If you need more understanding of one verse, look it up in a commentary or if you feel led to memorize it, then do so.

God is calling us to store up His Truth within our hearts, so when the enemy comes with His flaming arrows to wound our hearts, we will be ready!  Instead of hiding in the darkness, we will let God reveal the darkness through His light and deal with it.  All so we can be made whole in Him.

Remember in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus went out into the desert where Satan tried to tempt him three times.  Each time Jesus replied with, “It is written…”  Jesus replied from words that were hidden within His heart.  He did not fight Satan with his mind, trying to outwit him.  No He fought Satan with the Truth of God’s Word.  This is the example that Jesus left for us.  Fight with the Word of God. It works every time!

What happens when God’s Word is hidden in your heart?

1.  Your tendency to sin against God will be less.  vs. 11

2.  Praises will flow from you towards God.  vs. 12

3.  You will freely speak of God and His Word.  vs. 13

4.  You will rejoice in who God is.  vs. 14

vs. 15 (NIV)

“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.”

Meditate: to engage in contemplation or reflection

Precepts: rules of moral conduct

Consider: to think of especially with regard to taking some action

When you put all of this together, you see that David is saying “He reflects on the moral conduct of God and especially thinks about the action he will take regarding it.”  This is a daily thing.  We do not wake up any day and think we have done enough the day before.  Each day is new and with it comes an amount of time to reflect on God’s precepts.  What is it that HE would have you consider for today?  Read His Word with a desire to devour it and let it feed you. May it sink into the depths of your soul and may your heart bleed with the words that come from the Living Word!  I pray the Word of God will be an active, timeless, and priceless piece of literature in your home today and every day.

Lord, please continue to teach me how to hide Your Word in my heart.  May I not take for granted the gift I have in the freedom of reading Your Word.  I pray for all those in other countries who are in underground churches and do not have the freedom I know about.  May You continue to watch over them and bring Your Word alive in their hearts.

Hiding Your Word in my Heart,