Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 119:11

“Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” – Psalm 119:11

Anyone who is a true Christian will desire not to sin, but to walk in the law of the Lord.  Jesus said it this way, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15. Unfortunately, continually following His law is an extremely difficult thing to do.  We often fall to the temptations that the enemy attacks us with.  And when we do sin, we have an advocate before the Father.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

However, our focus verse defines how we can have victory over the sin and the temptations that cause us to fall.  It is by treasuring God’s word in our inner being and following what it says.   Let’s look at verse 9.  “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” Psalm 119:9. The intent of his verse in that in order to not sin against God, we must follow His teachings found in His word.  I would say this is rather obvious.  However, there is a very important phrase found in verse 11.  “Your word I have treasured in my heart,” Psalm 119:11a.  And the key word here is Treasured.

Often, we read God’s word as we read any other book.  For instance, we read a chapter, then put it down and move on to other things.  Or, after reading a chapter, we lay the book down and ponder it’s meaning for a short time.  Sometimes we even take a few notes.  However, what we must do is not only read, ponder and take a few notes, we must treasure what we read, make it something that changes who we are.  Reading His word should never be just reading it, or adding to our intellectual knowledge, but it should be stored away in our innermost being as a treasured piece of jewelry is stored in a safe.  It should become a part of who we are, and then let it guide us in all things we do.

In Psalm 37, we read a few verses that describe a righteous man.  “The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.” Psalm 37:29-31.  The righteous speaks wisdom and of justice.  And how can the righteous do this?  Because God’s word is in his heart, as a treasure as stated in Psalm 119.

We read and hear many things in the course of our lives.  I have read many books in my time, I have listened to various speakers and have watched many movies, shows and lectures.  Some books I do not even remember reading, there are movies I have totally forgotten about, and some lectures I do not even remember the key points.  However, there are many of the above I remember very well, and some I can recall very explicitly.  Why the difference?  Because those things we ‘treasure’ are the things we remember; the things we believe and the things we follow.

Is God’s word the most important thing we read?  Do we treasure the words and make them a part of who we are?  If we truly do, then we shall grow in our walk with Him, and we shall grow closer to God moment by moment.  If we do not, then it is important to figure out why and make the changes that will cause us to treasure His word in our hearts.  He is the Almighty God.  His ways must be more important than ours.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.