What is your favorite dessert? For me, I have a recipe that makes the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Whenever I am enjoying this favorite dessert of mine, I eat it slowly, savoring every last bite. This, my friend, is precisely how our favorite desserts are meant to be enjoyed. Did you know that Psalm 119:103 describes God’s word as “sweeter than honey?” Far more than our favorite desserts, God’s word is meant to be savored and delighted in any time we sit down to read His word to us. As we approach God’s word with this love and delight, we love Him with our minds.
Psalm 119 is a declaration of the Psalmist’s love for God’s word. This Psalm teaches us what it is like to savor God’s word. The Psalmist wrote in this passage of Scripture, “Oh, how I love your instructions! I think on them all day long” (verse 97). The Psalmist did not just read God’s word and then walk away, thinking nothing else of what he had just read. Instead, he reflected on God’s word “all day long.” He constantly meditated on and thought about how God called him to live. Even more, he was devoted to God’s word over anything else. He wrote, “I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word” (verse 101). His commitment to the word of God kept him from living disobediently or walking down a path toward sin. As he continued reflecting on God’s word, the Psalmist declared, “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey” (verse 103). Now, during the Psalmist’s day and age, honey was the chief sweetening agent. The Psalmist delighted in God’s word, and there was nothing sweeter to him than the words found in Scripture. What a statement to make!
What is your approach to God’s word? Do you approach it with excitement and joy, ready to savor it? Is it sweeter to you than anything else in this world? God’s word is a gift. Savor it. Delight in it. It is one of the greatest gifts ever given to us. Love God with your mind today by celebrating the gift that is His word to us.
One way we can reflect on and savor God’s word is Scripture memory. For the next few minutes, memorize Psalm 119:103. Let this passage of Scripture be a reminder to you of what a gift His word is to you, and let it challenge you to delight in and savor His remarkable gift to us of the Bible.
89 Your eternal word, O Lord,
stands firm in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation,
as enduring as the earth you created.
91 Your regulations remain true to this day,
for everything serves your plans.
92 If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy,
I would have died in my misery.
93 I will never forget your commandments,
for by them you give me life.
94 I am yours; rescue me!
For I have worked hard at obeying your commandments.
95 Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me,
I will quietly keep my mind on your laws.
96 Even perfection has its limits,
but your commands have no limit.
97 Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your laws.
100 I am even wiser than my elders,
for I have kept your commandments.
101 I have refused to walk on any evil path,
so that I may remain obedient to your word.
102 I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
for you have taught me well.
103 How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.
104 Your commandments give me understanding;
no wonder I hate every false way of life.
105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
I will obey your righteous regulations.
107 I have suffered much, O Lord;
restore my life again as you promised.
108 Lord, accept my offering of praise,
and teach me your regulations.
109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
110 The wicked have set their traps for me,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
111 Your laws are my treasure;
they are my heart’s delight.
112 I am determined to keep your decrees
to the very end.
