Hidden In My Heart

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Psalm 119:11).

Our dog Roxie enjoys playing a little game with Brooksyne. I hold her back, then cover her eyes and ears while Brooksyne hides behind a car or a tree. After I know that Brooksyne is out of sight I then holler, "Ready or not here she comes." As though she's competing in a race Roxie takes off, initially where she senses Brooksyne was heading. Then she dashes to and fro with her nose sniffing the air, trying to pick up her scent. She gets closer and closer until I hear Brooksyne gleefully holler out that she's been found! Then Roxie circles around her and acts like she hasn't seen her in days. She's usually quick to find Brooksyne since she knows her scent and the common hiding places.

"Hide and Seek" is a fun game that most all of us grew up playing with our friends and siblings. But there is a very important spiritual exercise of "Hide and Seek" that isn't just a game, rather it's a survival tactic against the enemy of our souls.

I went to a meeting at Lancaster Bible College yesterday and during lunch I visited with Mike Brickley and his wife. Mike is the president of the Pocket Testament League and is speaking in a three days series of messages in the chapel service. He had challenged the students on Tuesday to come to the chapel service the next morning prepared to share a memorized Scripture they had hidden in their hearts. He was unsure of the kind of response he would get but was so blessed when students, one after the other, shared with the college body a verse that was very personally meaningful in their walk with the Lord. His story brought a recollection of chapel services in my Bible College over thirty years ago and how formative these experiences were for my spiritual walk.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and is focused on the value and power of God's Word. In fact each of the 176 verses has some reference to the Word using various synonyms such as commands, precepts, laws, decrees, promises, and so forth.

"Your Word I have hidden in my heart." This spiritual discipline is such a lacking element among so many today. The Word is the sacred Scriptures and although we use our minds we need to see that it reaches the heart and is hidden away. When we face temptation or discouragement; when we experience loss or need direction; when we want Biblical role models we then seek out the pertinent Scriptures we have hidden deep in our hearts.

Hiding God's Word begins with regular reading of the sacred text. Of preeminent importance is the text itself. This is a lifelong practice, for God's Word is an inexhaustible treasure of spiritual wisdom. Paul indicated this when he wrote to Timothy, "How from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:15). In the very next chapter in his final written words Paul asks Timothy "to bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments" (2 Timothy 4:13). D. Edmond Hiebert writes, "Even as an old man facing certain death, the apostle has not lost his interest for study and mental pursuits. It presents a standing challenge to the minister to be an indefatigable student, especially of the Word of God."

Hiding God's Word includes studying of the sacred text. There are many wonderful supplemental resources that we may find helpful and a blessing as we study the Bible such as devotional booklets, study guides, notes in study Bibles and so forth. The serious Bible student must be very careful to use these tools only as a supplement, never a replacement. Each morning as Brooksyne and I pray over these daily encouragement messages we pray that the various components would be a blessing; our stories, exposition, photos, personal reflections and music links. But we realize the most important element is the Scripture text itself. Above all else read the Scripture!

Hiding God's Word includes meditating on the sacred text. David wrote in Psalm 1 concerning the blessed man, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." In my understanding meditation is taking a single verse or small portion of Scripture and thoughtfully pondering and considering it, turning it around over and over in the mind. Jim Gambini, my former pastor, used the phrase "masticating", which is the technical term meaning "to chew" much like dairy cows and other ruminating animals chew their cud. Contented dairy cows can chew their cud eight hours a day totaling 30,000 chews daily. Now, if we could turn God's Word over and over in our minds throughout the day I believe we'd have a lot more victory and joy in our lives and it would certainly spill out to those around us! We would also memorize Scripture in the process.

Hiding God's Word includes memorizing the sacred text. That's hard for many and frankly for me it gets harder as I grow older. We may have different giftings in this regard but I challenge each reader to at least memorize the Scripture that is your life's verse. Early in my pastoral ministry I memorized many Scripture verses which are deeply hidden in my heart to this day.

My life verse and the final challenge in today's message are, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Be encouraged today,

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily Prayer: Father, Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word. Let me live that I may praise You and may Your laws sustain me. My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end. Amen.