Psalm 119: 11 “I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

The Psalms resonate deeply with me because they seem to express the emotional realities we all experience in our lives. This one immediately brought to mind the many Sunday school and youth group songs I was taught. I didn’t realize they were helping me memorize scriptures.

There’s this song by Michael W. Smith I’ve sung which fits here: “Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. When I feel afraid, think I’ve lost my way, still you’re there right beside me. Nothing will I fear, as long as you are near, please be near me to the end.”

Even recently when I received a new health diagnosis, experienced the election and was involved in a family issue, these words comforted me. God’s Word can redirect my thinking and raise my vision to the bigger picture of God’s vision; that refocus brings hope, grace and God’s presence into the situation. Wow! Are we blessed to have His Word so available to us! Bibles, Bible apps--all versions are accessible at the click of a finger.

Even our Forward Day by Day is free for our use. Yes, yes, yes. The Advent season brings the Word alive in the promises of Jesus’ birth in songs and hymns that are played and sung in sacred and secular settings. Let us join in hiding its messages in our hearts, to continue directing our lives to following Him!

Donna Rae Cotton