“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:9-11
No matter the challenge or confrontation you face today, it is how you respond that matters because our real enemy is sin. When our impatience is provoked, our patience has a chance to grow, when our hatred is provoked, our love has a chance to grow. When our doubt is provoked, our faith has a chance to grow. The psalmist understood that the only way to respond as God would want us to, is when the Word of God is hidden in our heart.
Have you hidden the Word of God in your heart? Remember, it is not the word of your mouth that satan fears, that will give you the strength to resist temptation, that will silence the voice of fear and doubt but the Word of God in your heart.
It is the Word of God in your heart that will keep you from desiring sin. And hatred, unforgiveness, offence, jealousy, lust, anger, pride, greed – all the fruits of the flesh begin in the heart. If you can conquer the battle of your heart, you have won. But remember the battle is not a physical or emotional one – but a spiritual one. Sin is a spiritual thing; there is no power or self-will that can fight it. It is only the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
That is why the greatest weapon we have is the Word of God in our heart.
