Thy Word Have I Hid in Mine Heart • Deshen Daily

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11 KJV)

The Psalmist hid God’s Word in his heart, and that Word empowered him to overcome sin. God’s Word in the heart prevails over not only sin but over any challenge in life. It is in our interest to enrich our hearts with the Word. But how does that Word dwell in our hearts?

Growing up as a young Christian, I was taught that the Word of God dwells in the human spirit. As such, when I read the Bible, I thought the things I read mysteriously entered my spirit, bypassing my mind.

However, the Word of God from the scriptures dwells in our hearts as knowledge in our minds. When you pick up the Bible to read or study, the Word in the Book enters your heart and dwells in you as an awareness of the things written, knowledge in your mind. This knowledge in your mind becomes a springboard for your human spirit and the Holy Spirit. I can dramatize it this way: the Holy Spirit looks into your heart to see how much of the Word is in there that He can use.

The Word in our minds develops powerful roots that penetrate the ground of our hearts as we understand, believe, and surrender to what we know. So the Word works in our hearts in two steps: first, it enters into our hearts, and second, it takes hold of us as we take hold of it through understanding, believing, and yielding to do what it commands.

Have you hidden God’s Word in your heart? How much of it is in you, and does it have any root in you?