TODAY IN THE WORD
Two years ago, the classic children’s book, The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, celebrated its 100th birthday. The four friends in the book, Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and Toad, launch and experience whimsical and creative adventures in lyrical prose that has appealed to generations of readers. Many illustrators have done their part in literally hundreds of editions to bring these characters and their stories to life for us.

Among classic books, the Bible as God’s Word is of course in a category by itself. Do you open it expecting to find joy? The writer of Psalm 119 did. His joy in Scripture is quieter but no less powerful than the joy in Psalm 98 (see February 19).

The key is verse 111: “Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.” In the psalm’s poetic parallelism, joy is connected with the idea of “heritage” or inheritance (NASB). The Bible is God’s gift that incorporates and also transcends tradition and history, recorded for us by believers of old and divinely preserved by the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is God’s revelation to us of what He has said and done for His people.

Paul saw it in the same terms when he commended the Ephesian elders “to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). Because Scripture is the inspired written record of God’s redemptive work in the world, it is indeed the joy of our hearts!

Today’s reading also captures other truths of God’s Word and our relationship to it. The Word guides us like a lamp along the path of righteousness. It preserves our life. We are called upon to honor it, obey it, and set our hearts upon it. But biblical truths aren’t absorbed by osmosis. We have an ongoing responsibility to teach and learn them, as well as to obey them in the face of temptation and opposition.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart,” wrote David. “They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (Ps. 19:7-14). If joy is found in God’s Word, it can also be found in the discipline of Scripture memorization. Rather than thinking of it as a chore, consider it a taste of honey or the pursuit of joy. You can choose a verse or passage from this month’s study to commit to memory as a way to keep the theme of joy in your heart and mind for days and weeks to come.

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