Word Power

When our son David was three years old, he memorized Psalm 119:97, which reads, “O how I love Thy law O Lord. It is my meditation all the day.” However, he couldn’t say his L’s very well at the time, so the verse came out, “O how I yove Thy yaw O Yord. It is my medipitation all the day.” (He also had trouble pronouncing ”meditation.”)

I came across this verse in my devotions recently; I smiled at this memory of David. David is now grown and reaping the benefits of living by this verse. As I freshly considered  how true this verse is, I paused to ask myself, How am I doing at applying this verse to my life? I love the Bible because I love Jesus Christ. If I’m being honest, however, I still need to focus more on making His Word an increasing part of my thought process each day.

Scripture needs to be a part of my daily life because that’s God’s primary tool for revealing Himself to me. He has used His Word so much over the years to bring comfort, peace, encouragement, and guidance for life and ministry. For this I’m very grateful.

I’m reminded of how thankful I am for tools that help me integrate Scripture into my daily schedule. Not long ago while on a road trip with my wife, Deb, we were reviewing together some Bible verses we had memorized a number of years ago. They were verses from The Navigators Topical Memory System that both of us had committed to memory when we were students at Purdue University in the early 1970s.

The system includes a dozen verses on the topic of “Relying on God’s Resources.” As Deb recited verses on such topics as God’s Spirit, God’s strength, and God’s faithfulness, tears began to well up in my eyes.

She paused, noticed my emotional response, and asked what I was feeling. I told her that when I memorized these verses I really liked them and they meant something to me. But now, after more than four decades, they’re all-the-more essential to my everyday life. I’ve experienced them in real-life situations, including trials and difficulties. They aren’t merely words on a page, they have power and deep meaning to my heart. They remind me how faithful God has been through the years, and how faithful He still is to our family.

When talking about the enduring power of God’s Word, I appreciate how Chuck Swindoll has summed it up in his book “The Church Awakening.” In it, he turns our attention to 2 Timothy 3:16 and speaks of four key benefits that the Scriptures bring to one’s life: teaching (source for truth), reproof (shows where we have gotten off track), correction (straightening us out), and training in righteousness (ongoing growth as we submit to the authority of the Scriptures). I’m very much aware that these benefits don’t come about in my life unless I am living in God’s Word and His Word is living in me.

In closing, let me ask about you. How has the Word made an impact on your life? Are there any verses that have taken on new meaning as you go through different seasons of life?