Thoughtful Thursday: Hide In Your Heart

Psalm 119:11 says “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, [hide] means: To protect; to keep in safety.

Hiding or protecting God’s Word in your heart, is vitally important for Christians.  This goes beyond reading it and studying it.  This is about memorizing it so that it is with you, even when you don’t have a Bible with you. 

The reason David gave in Psalm 119:11 for hiding God’s Word in his heart was so that he “might not sign against thee.”  This has to be the most important reason.  When your heart is full of the infallible truths of the Bible, it is much harder to sin against God, than when it is full of ungodly things.

Psalm 119:101 says “I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.”

Here David shows his love for God and His Word by avoiding the ways that could cause him to go against the Word.  He tried to keep himself from being in situations where disobeying God would be an option.

Psalm 119:105 says“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Once again, David is talking about how important God’s word is to him.   He uses it to help him to try to avoid sin and evil ways, then he uses it as a light for his path.   If you have God’s word hid in your heart, it works as a built-in flashlight to guide you through this dark world.  You’re able to pull it out and light your way any time, any place. 

We had a missionary family visit our church a couple years ago.  They were on deputation, raising support to go to a very dangerous part of Mexico.  The wife told me that she was scared, but knew that because they were doing God’s will, that God would be with them.  She had memorized Psalm 91, which is filled with great promises about God’s protection for His people, so that wherever she was and whatever situation she was in, she could remind herself that God was with her.

Everyone learns and remembers things in different ways.  Here are a couple of suggestions to help you to commit God’s word to memory:

-Start with finding a verse that means something to you.  Write it down and keep it with you.  Read it over and over as often as possible.

-Learn some scripture songs.  There are so many verses that have been put to music, that not only glorify and praise God when you sing to him, but help you to remember the words of the verse as well.

-Although not as enjoyable as singing and reading, writing a verse over and over is an equally as effective way to memorize it. 

God wrote the Bible to us as a love letter.  We should hide, protect, and keep safe those words in our heart as our way to say, “I love you too!”