The Hidden Things

by Jane Josephs

“I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” –Psalm 119:11

Most of us have played a game of hide and seek at some time in our lives. But have you ever hidden a house or car key under a flower pot? Or stuffed away a few dollars under your mattress?

We hide things we don’t want others to see or find, with the expectation that we’ll find them again when we need them, right? The psalmist in Psalm 119 certainly knew the value and the power of hiding God’s Word in his heart. He considered God’s Word his first line of defense against sin. When faced with a choice to sin or not to sin, he reached inside his heart and mind for scripture that would offer protection and guidance.

Searching for something that’s hidden, however, means we either hid it ourselves in the first place or we’ve heard there’s a bargain worth the hunt. In the New Testament that bargain is Jesus himself, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

We’ve all had our turn being “it” in the childhood game of hide and seek, but it’s no laughing matter when we come up against the troubles of the day, is it? It’s then that we rejoice in finding the Word we’ve hidden away in our hearts, the Living Word, Jesus himself.