I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

We live in an age where we have God’s Word literally at our fingertips. On our phones, we can read it or have it read to us. We can even choose from a hundred different translations with the click of a button. At any given moment, we can access God’s truth in a matter of seconds. But hiding God’s Word in our hearts doesn’t mean having the ability to access it externally; it means having the ability to recall it internally. Memorizing Scripture is the most powerful and effective way to fight off the lies of the enemy, to fill our lives, and therefore the lives around us, with love and grace, and to keep us from stumbling when temptation comes calling.

When we don’t have God’s Word planted firmly in our hearts, we leave our hearts open for all the wrong roots grow there: Pride, anger, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, lust, greed, and other ugly weeds of sin. But when we have God’s Holy Word planted there, when the only roots we allow to grow are His heavenly truths, He will bring exactly the truth we need to our hearts right when we need it. When someone cuts us off in traffic, when someone lashes out with stinging words, when we lose all hope of ever getting well, out of debt, or finding a job—regardless of the situation, God has truth for that! He transforms us through His Word, but we can’t be transformed by just having it at our fingertips. We are only transformed by it when it becomes part of who we are, when it steers our thoughts, our hearts, our relationships, and every aspect of our lives. 

In Matthew 4, Jesus counters the enemy’s temptations in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) without a smart phone and without a scroll of Holy Scriptures. Can you imagine if Jesus had needed to stop and look up the verses before fighting back against the enemy’s evil schemes? The enemy doesn’t stand a chance against the life-giving truth of God’s Word, and he knows it. You have the same power to fight off the enemy as Jesus did in the desert, but His Word needs to be hidden deep within your heart. Only when the roots of truth grow deep will you be able to effectively fight against the enemy’s lies, choke out any roots of sin that have been allowed to grow there, and build a life that overflows with fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Need help? Get The Bible Memory App and start today! You are loved! 

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105