Thought for the Day

Verses 1-2 - The theme of keeping God's Word in our hearts and obeying His commandments began in chapter six and continues in chapter seven. As squirrels lay up stores of nuts in autumn so they will have food to get them through the winter, we need to "lay up" the Word of God in our hearts for the winter seasons of life.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He overcame the devil by answering him with Scripture. If we do not know the Bible, the devil can take advantage of us in times of temptation and rob us of our inheritance. James 4:7 says: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We resist Satan by choosing to believe the Word and speaking against his lies. Speaking Scripture will cause the devil to flee. We need to speak those verses that pertain to what the enemy is trying to do against us. If we do not know what the Word says about our circumstances, we can be defeated (Hosea 4:6b).

Let us say, for example, that the devil tempts us to sin; however, we repent and receive forgiveness. Later, someone we love needs prayer for their healing. The devil does not want us to pray for people to be healed, so he might begin to drop thoughts in our minds such as this: "You cannot ask God to heal your loved one because you committed a terrible sin! You are not righteous. You are being punished because of your sin." If we know God's Word, we will recognize two lies here. We will know that "If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9), and that He will then answer our prayers when we pray according to His will. We will also know that the Lord desires all to be healed since Jesus went about healing all that were sick (Acts 10:38). Thus, we will know that our loved one's illness is not God punishing us, but the devil's attempt to steal, kill, and destroy. We have authority over him in the name of Jesus; and should never hesitate to pray for our loved one to be healed.

Verse 3 - Information was recorded differently in Biblical times than today. People wrote on tablets made of clay, slate, or something similar; thus the phrase, "write them upon the table of thine heart." We are to engrave God's word upon our hearts; to memorize it, to know it by heart. "Bind them upon thy fingers" has the same kind of meaning. We must keep God's Word close at hand so we can read it, know it, and most importantly - live it!