Read: Psalm 119:10-16
“Mom, I can’t find any socks.”
“I know you have plenty of socks, where are they?”
“I don’t know, I can’t find them.”
Ten minutes before we need to be out the door was not the time for this revelation. I look and I cannot find any socks either. Well, at least I know he’s been wearing socks instead of them sitting in his drawer.
My child’s hidden socks reminds me of the Psalmist in today’s passage.
1. Read Scripture.
Just as my child is wearing (and hiding) his socks, the Psalmist reads and meditates on scripture. He reads and uses scripture by applying it to his own life. Scripture for him doesn’t sit on the shelf looking pretty.
Because when we read, ponder and interact with scripture, we hide God’s word in our hearts. The words become a part of us even when we cannot remember the exact chapter and verse of a particular passage, we gain the heart of the passage.
When you hide scripture in your heart this way, you can find it anywhere and anytime you need it. God will remind you because His Word to us never gets “lost.” Just as I found the hidden socks scattered throughout my child’s room.
2. Ponder, Meditate and Interact with Scripture.
The Psalmist hides God’s Word in his heart by delighting in God’s decrees and statutes and meditating on His precepts.
The Psalmist takes what he reads and meditates on it. He deeply focuses on one passage or verse over time until he knows the words inside and out. Not just straight memorization but understanding the meaning and how to apply those words to his own life.
3. Collect Scripture
We can do the same by collecting verses special to us in a notebook. Do you have a special notebook to write verses? Find a notebook and start today.
Five of my favorite verses to get you started:
- Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
- Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
- For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 - For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
4. Grow Over Time
This type of growth takes time. Don’t expect to be a Bible scholar overnight. Find a reading plan, devotional, or other resource that works for you. Be committed to read a little bit each day. Find a time that works for you. As the seasons of life change for you, be flexible, but always try to take 5 to 15 minutes each day to read scripture or a devotional. Whether it’s nursing, nap time, lunch time, school time, morning or evening, there is always time to spend with Jesus.
Dear Lord,
As I fix my eyes on your ways and hide your Word in my heart, open my eyes, so that I may see wondrous things in your Word.
Amen
Please share this devotion with friends so they too can hide God’s Word in their hearts.