PSALM 119:111 – Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

THEME OF THE DAY. MAKING GOD’S WORD OUR DAILY JOY. So, could we look to heaven and proclaim today’s scripture to the Lord? Before the God who knows all things including our hearts, thoughts, motives, and sincerity, may each of us look “straight into the eyes of God” and say, “Your Word is the joy of my heart?” I would like to think we each would be able to be brutally honest and say, “Some days it is. And I would like it to be all the time, but there are times life gets in the way and I allow busyness, demands, and even my own neglect and forgetfulness to keep His Word from being the joy of my heart.” But don’t be discouraged over this “on again, off again” experience. We do ebb and flow in the Christian life. We do have times where His Word is the most cherished thing in our life and obedience to it high. Then we go deep into the dark valleys of spiritual experience and find the opposite occurring; placing worldly things above His Word and obedience hit and miss. But again, don’t go into a pit of despair or discouragement. There are some things we may do to help make those times in the valley less and help us to consistently proclaim the words of the Psalmist with passion and sincerity – “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” Here are four . . .

First, remember what we hold as we grab our Bibles. Friends, this is not just a book. Not even a good religious book. This is the Word of God; the inerrant, inspired, and God-breathed Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). I know that we know that, but that is the danger. Familiarity with spiritual things, and especially familiarity with the Bible, unless guarded against, will quickly remove the “awe factor” over what the Bible is. Right now, take your Bible and thank God for it and remember how He has preserved it through all time and has given it to you personally. This is the first step to it becoming our joy.

Next, remember who is revealed in the Bible. God has given us His Book for two reasons; to know ourselves and to know Him. And it is in knowing the God of the Bible, particularly, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we truly know ourselves. Always go to the Bible to get Christ. Don’t read the Bible to gain knowledge, complete a box in a reading plan, or simply to just read the Bible. We come to the Word of God to meet Him who is our joy. As we do this, His Word will truly become our daily delight and joy, never neglected or ignored.

Thirdly, remember God’s Word is the path to happiness and holiness. It is the compass by which we are to navigate through the treacherous and dangerous waters of life in a sin-cursed world. Heeding the warnings and obeying its precepts keeps us safe and will lead us home to Him who is the Word of God and gave His Word.

Finally, remember the Day of Judgment when we will give a detailed account what we did with the Bible. Our obedience to it, or neglect of it will be met with blessings of rewards or the loss of rewards. Judgment Day is serious and the standard of our judgment is the Bible. Praise God for His great love for He showed us in advance what to expect by giving us His Word.

Yes, friends, we may truly learn to proclaim with the Psalmist, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” It all begins with engaging our minds to remember what God has given us; His Word and then to keep before us who it reveals, what it is for our life, and how it prepares us for the Day of Judgment.

PRAYER: “Father, show me more and more the wonder, beauty and value of Your Word.”

QUOTE: “The value we place and the time we give to the Word of God reveals the value we place on Christ”