THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MY HEART
Psalm 119:11-16
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you 12 Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
A tradition of some of our family's elk and deer hunting camps from years ago was a little poetic entertainment by an old family friend, "Doc" Dan Newbill. Doc would often recite, from memory two old Robert Service poems, "THE CREMATION OF SAM MCGEE" and "THE SHOOTING OF DAN MCGREW." "Doc" Dan is gone now, along with others from back then, but I remember well those evenings. I always loved to hear the evenings start with...
"There are strange things done in the midnight sun. By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee..."
It amazes me how we could remember such things and how they never leave us. Funny how songs we heard has a kid we can still recite fifty years later. Silly limericks remain bright in our memory. Why is it that we don't or can't do the same thing with scripture?
The words of the Psalmist explain over and over again the needs, values and rewards of acquiring God's scriptures and statutes. But, we struggle so much with this. We remember so much and can recite word for word, yet scripture escapes us.
The only way around this is to spend time in the word and pray that God will allow you to retain what you read and hear. If we truly want to hold these words, God will grant it.
Chuck Swindoll has written,
"I know of no other single practice in the Christian life that's more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. That's right. No other single discipline is more useful and rewarding than this. No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends!"
As a kid I memorized many verses and thought that I had forgotten most of them. When I started writing on a daily basis they came back. Now as I learn more, my mind continually recalls God's words as I encounter situations and struggles from day to day. His words remind me of His heart and guides and encourages mine.
Psalm 19:16, I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
Set aside time to read God's word.... It will stay with you as you Traverse the mountains and valleys through life.
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