Fear of the LordSample

It’s Time to Store Up! 

What does "storing up" mean to you? When I think of this term, I see an image in my head of people gathering items, labeling them, organizing them, and packing them up. Every year my family gets decorations out of storage, and we bring them out for the Christmas season. After Christmas is over, we then take all of the decorations and carefully store them away for next year. Those who have moved or reorganized your home know the importance of effectively accomplishing the storing process; we buy, utilize, label, store, and maybe reuse or redistribute in some manner during this time. 

Proverbs 7:1-4 gives more insight into the importance of storing. The scripture says, "Store up my commands within you... then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God."

Many years after I dedicated my life to Christ, I would write down my thoughts while I was reading the Bible. Some may call it journaling, but I wasn't processing my feelings about the Word. I was simply recording what the Word was saying; I wrote down the truths, principles, or insights that I received from my time spent reading. This was my way of storing up the Word of God in my heart. Through doing this, I have been able to make biblically-based decisions in my life. My daily interactions with people, financial arrangements, career, and personal relationships have been influenced and shifted by the simple decision to "store up" on biblical commandments and principles. 

Solomon recognized the correlation between the fear of the Lord and storing His commandments in our hearts. There are many ways to store up the Word of God inside of you. It may be meditating, memorizing, or journaling about the Word of God. Regardless of how you do this, it's important to recognize that storing and understanding the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. 

The "within you" part of this scripture is also significant. Solomon knew if we were in some manner regenerating these precious commands (notice it's not just suggestions or ideas), then these commandments would influence our day-to-day lives. This "storing up" process plays a key part for believers who are growing toward the fear of God.

"Storing up" isn't just reading or believing in God's Word. It means that we are studying it, writing it down, organizing it, repeating it, maybe even memorizing it, so that we have His Word in our heart. The more often we do this, the more we are putting the words of God into our hearts regularly. 

As believers, it can be easy to fall into a routine where you're reading or skimming through the Word quickly without gathering the fruit the Bible holds. Throughout my Christian walk, I find it common to read verses that I've already read hundreds of times and understand them differently after careful meditation and studying over the Word! Isn't it powerful when God gives you a revelation or a greater understanding of His Word?

These biblical commandments must become part of navigating our lives. They become our world view and help us discern the lies of the secular world from the truth of the Bible. These commandments give us clarity in decisions and relationships.

As we store God's Word in our heart, we are engraving these beliefs into our hearts as our moral code. I have seen an endless amount of people who have completely shifted their lifestyles for the better after storing the biblical commandments and principles the Word offers us. As a psychologist, I know that what people store and put into their body spiritually, mentally, and physically shows by their disciplines and fruit. The discipline of storing God's Word in our heart leads us to the fear of the Lord.

As followers and believers of Christ, wouldn't it be an honor to be His student and take notes from the all-powerful God who created us?