Hiding God’s Word In Your Heart

When the angel came to Mary she responded with faith: ‘Let it be to me according to your word.’ In Luke chapter 2 verse 19, it says, 'But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.'

I want to emphasize how important it is to keep the word of God in your heart—to ponder it, to take time meditating on it, to consider what it means, how it applies in your situation. I’d like to turn to Psalm 119 which is one of my favorite Psalms. It became so vivid to me when I was a principal of a college for training African teachers in East Africa. Verse 9 says:

“How can a young man cleanse his way?”

In other words, how can a young man lead a pure life—and for the Africans that was a real problem. It wasn’t an easy thing because every temptation... And all their cultures was opposite. But then it says:

“By taking heed according to Your word.”

And then in verse 11, the psalmist says:

“Your word have I hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

How do you hide God’s Word in your heart? I’ll give you one simple one word answer: Memorize. There’s much too little memorizing in the church today. People sometimes regard it as a rather simple thing to do. I remember reading part of Winston Churchill’s biography in which he emphasized that at school he had to learn long passages of English poetry and how much that meant to him in his political career, because he had this ability to memorize and reproduce. And I would say to you, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

Let me also take you to the example of Jesus. When He was confronted by Satan in the wilderness He didn’t say, “Now I know if I had a concordance, somewhere in the book of Deuteronomy...” He had it there. And you need it there. You need it just as much as He needed it. Don’t start with something big. Start with something small. Are you prepared? Do you have ammunition when Satan comes with all his doubts and accusations against God.

One of two things will happen. Either God’s Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from God’s Word. That’s the simple issue.