10.8.2026 - Anneke DeJong

Thursday, 10/08/26

As you enter your time with God, pause for a moment of silence and rest in His presence. Our text today comes from Psalm 119:97-104. Read through the passage slowly, meditating on the words and listening as God speaks to you.

מ Mem

Oh, how I love your law!

I meditate on it all day long.

Your commands are always with me

and make me wiser than my enemies.

I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your statutes.

I have more understanding than the elders,

for I obey your precepts.

I have kept my feet from every evil path

so that I might obey your word.

I have not departed from your laws,

for you yourself have taught me.

How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

I gain understanding from your precepts;

therefore I hate every wrong path. (Psalm 119: 97-104)

God Builds His Church Through His Sanctifying Word

I once played pickleball with a woman who shared that she tries to play at least 10 hours a week. Her goal is to have played 10,000 hours by the time she’s 65. She was following a principle popularized by Malcolm Gladwell that says it takes 10,000 hours of correctly practicing a skill to become an expert at it. While we can debate whether that “rule” is accurate, we all know that it takes practice to become good at something.

The writer of Psalm 119 makes the same point, only the skill he’s developing is wisdom. He describes how he loves God’s law and meditates on it all day long. God’s commands are always with him, and he is always practicing obedience to them. As a result, they have made him wiser than his enemies, more insightful than his human teachers, and have given him more understanding than those older than him. Constant study and practice have made him wise beyond his years.

The psalmist is describing the process of sanctification. This is the process by which we become more and more like Jesus, who himself “grew in wisdom and stature” as he meditated on his Father’s words and lived in perfect obedience to them (Luke 2:52). Fortunately, Jesus promised that we don’t have to go through this process alone. The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of what Jesus has said, enabling us to correctly study and practice God’s word, leading to wisdom (John 14:26).

Meditating on God’s word involves actively reading it or reciting it and then contemplating its truths – thinking deeply about them. Unlike the world’s definition of meditation, which involves emptying our minds, when we meditate on Scripture, we are filling our minds with both God’s words and his wonderful works.

But it's not enough to just read and think about God’s words. We need to practice obeying them. When we put those words into practice, we make progress in the skill of living according to God’s expectations. We gain wisdom and understanding. We develop the mature ability to consistently make the right choice at the right time.

Psalm 119 challenges us to consider our own progress toward wisdom and understanding. What is filling your mind as you go about your day? How much of your time is spent contemplating the truths of Scripture? Are you practicing obedience to God and His word?

Consider practicing these words today: