My wife’s grandmother loves to store up vegetables. She has always had a garden, and has used it to be a blessing to others. If you go to her house you will find in her pantry all kinds of jars stocked away with the fruit of her labor. We have feasted off of her canned goods for years.

     In Psalm 119:11, we have a similar scenario. The verse reads, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God.” The word “hid” is tsaphan in the Hebrew, and it means to hoard, or store up; quite literally it means to “treasure up” only to bring out at a later date. When the psalmist instructed us to “hide” God’s Word, he was not implying that we conceal it, but rather to keep it accessible for a time when needed.

     Just as we “store up” vegetables to be consumed at a later date, even so should we “store up” the Word of God. We should hide it in our hearts, so that when we face temptations we will have something to chew on.

     We should value, honor, meditate, memorize, and pray over God’s Word. We ought to store it up, not as vegetables in a can, but as the greatest treasure on earth. As a result, it will be a guardian and a sword against sin and temptation. It is true, if you keep God’s Word, God’s Word will keep you.