Hiding God’s Word in Our Heart
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:9-11
Did you know you have a secret weapon when it comes to making godly decisions, navigating relationships, and overcoming challenging situations? It’s the Bible!
Psalm 119:9-11 gives us encouragement on how to live a pure life. How can we live the way God intends for us to? By seeking Him with all our hearts and spending time in His word.
I love the way The Message version talks about hiding God’s word in our hearts. This version says “I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.”
We all know that saving money means we have more in our account, and if we spend all that we have, there will be nothing left. The same is true for our spiritual life. The more time we spend in the Word, the more it settles deep within our soul and the more we are able to navigate every circumstance from the place of knowing we are loved and cherished by God. Every time we read the Word, we are making a little deposit that is there to help us as we go through our day. Yet if we don’t spend time in the word, we will likely find ourselves spiritually “bankrupt” in challenging moments.
Similarly, the more we read the word, the more we come to understand and trust God’s character. If we don’t know Him, it’s hard to want to seek Him with all our hearts. But when we understand that we have a loving, healing, powerful, compassionate God who is willing and able to help us live a godly life, we will begin turning to Him rather than our phones or whatever quick fix we think will help. We will learn to say no to whatever sinful tendencies we have because we don’t want to hurt God. We find ourselves stronger and more confident because our identity is secure in Him.
If it’s been a long time since you’ve read your Bible, I pray that this is a little sign for you to pick it up and draw closer to God today. His word and presence are the greatest gifts for us!