Loving God’s Word

Let me ask you a question that might reveal more than you think. What’s the first thing you reach for when you wake up? Be honest. Is it your phone? Maybe you’re like “I’m just turning off the alarm” but next thing you know you’re watching a goat do yoga. That’s how it starts. I’ve been there.

The truth is we’re being discipled every single day by what we consume. And for most of us it’s not Scripture. It’s clickbait. It’s X posts of people arguing over politics or some obscure theological issue as if it’s the trinity. Or even less heady than that. We consume things to not make us think at all, like goat yoga or cows getting their hoofs trimmed.  Meanwhile our Bible’s over there collecting dust looking at us like “Hey remember me? I’ve got eternal wisdom and you’re over here liking a meme about a cat in a cowboy hat.” When was the last time you were as excited to open God’s Word as you were to see if someone online has a new hot take on the economy?

Most of us don’t wake up craving Scripture. It’s more like a spiritual multivitamin. Good for you sure but it’s not exactly a cinnamon roll. We’d rather scroll than wrestle with Leviticus right? But here’s the deal. What you love you’ll chase. What you crave you’ll consume. If you don’t love God’s Word you’ll settle for substitutes. And maybe that’s why we feel so dry sometimes. It’s not that God’s gone silent. It’s that I’ve been listening to other voices instead.

Today we’re diving into what it means to fall in love with God’s Word. Not just read it. Not just reference it when we’re arguing with someone or trying to make a point. But to love it like it’s the best thing you’ve got. Psalm 119 verse 97 says “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” That’s where we’re headed. Because the more you love the Word the more you’ll love the One who spoke it.

Psalm 119:97-104

You won’t love the Word until you love the Lord. (97)

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (97). That’s not the voice of someone checking a spiritual task off a to-do list. That’s not dry religion. That’s desire. The psalmist isn’t just reading the Bible. He’s feasting on it. It’s his constant thought, his steady delight.

Think about something you love. Like barbecue. If there’s a plate of ribs in front of you, you don’t need me to say “Hey eat that.” You’re already three bites with on sauce on your shirt naming your firstborn “Brisket.” This verse isn’t about discipline. It’s about delight. He’s meditating on it all day because it connects him to the God he’s crazy about.

I’ll be real. I don’t always feel that way. Some days I open my Bible and it’s like “Okay Numbers, let’s do this” and five minutes later I’m wondering if I locked my car. But that’s the point. It’s not about guilt or a perfect reading streak. It’s about affection. You won’t love the Word until you love its Author. It’s like trying to enjoy a love letter from someone you don’t care about. It’s just words. But when you’re head over heels for God, His voice becomes the best part of your day.

Spurgeon nailed it when he said this:

“It is a note of exclamation. He loves so much that he must express his love, and in making the attempt he perceives that it is inexpressible—and therefore cries, "O how I love!" We not only reverence but love the law, we obey it out of love, and even when it chides us for disobedience we love it none the less. The law is God's law, and therefore it is our love. We love it for its holiness, and pine to be holy; we love it for its wisdom, and study to be wise; we love it for its perfection, and long to be perfect.”

That’s why the psalmist meditates on it “all the day” (97). Meditation isn’t just reading. It’s chewing. It’s letting the truth get inside of you and reshape your mind, your desires, your heart. And we always meditate on what we love. If it’s not God’s Word, it will be something else. Social media. News. Anxiety. Sports. Stress. We naturally focus on whatever we value most.

So here’s the question: if your love for the Bible is growing cold, could it be that your love for God is growing cold too? Maybe it’s not a reading issue. Maybe it’s a heart issue. Maybe you don’t need a new reading plan. You need to return to your first love. Ask God to stir your affections for Him again. Because when your heart is burning for Him, your ears will long for His voice. And you’ll find that voice right here in His Word.

You don’t have to be brilliant to be wise. You just have to be biblical. (98–100)

You don’t need a PhD to be a theologian. You just need a Bible. Every Christian is a theologian. But not every Christian is a good theologian. The difference isn’t how many degrees you’ve earned or how many books you’ve read. The difference is whether or not your heart and mind are being shaped by the Word of God. 

Look at what the psalmist says in verses 98–100. He doesn’t claim superiority because of his intellect. He doesn’t say he’s naturally smarter than his enemies or more insightful than his teachers or wiser than the elders because he has some special advantage. He says,

98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
    for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
    for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
    for I keep your precepts.

That last one might sting a little for some. “I understand more than the aged.” Just because you’ve been in church a long time doesn’t mean you’ve grown up in the faith. You can be mature in age and immature in the faith. Spiritual maturity isn’t measured in years. It’s measured in obedience. The psalmist, likely David, knew what it was to be both young and wise, but he was wise because he’s devoted to the Word.

Hebrews 5:12-14 - 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

If I said I was thirsty and needed a drink and pulled out a sippy cup, what would you think? You would think I’ve finally lost it. You knew I was close, but that last marble is gone. Why? Because I should have grown up from that. Grown-ups don’t drink out of sippy cups. We have a lot of grown-ups in the church drinking out of spiritual sippy cups. Young and old alike are beckoned by scripture to dig deep into it. And once you do, you are filled and satisfied, and then you start feeding others.

The Word of God doesn’t just lead you forward. It holds you back. (101–102)

The psalmist says, “I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word” (101). H.B. Charles says of this verse, “These verses affirm the sanctifying power of God’s word. Either the Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” That’s real. The psalmist isn’t waiting to mess up and say “Oops sorry God.” He’s stopping before the crash.

This verse is a testimony of restraint. The psalmist isn’t talking about waiting until after sin to come back and say sorry. He’s talking about prevention. He knows where his feet want to go, and he doesn’t trust them. So he pulls back. He’s watching where he walks.

I’m terrible at this kind of restraint. When I see a bag of chips I think “I’ll just have one.” Ten minutes later I’m elbow-deep in crumbs calling it just a snack. My feet know where they want to go. Straight to the pantry. And I don’t trust them. The psalmist gets that. He’s not drifting toward sin. He’s got the Word as his guardrail.

Holiness is saying no to sin because you’ve already said yes to God. You say no to the wrong path because you’ve already said yes to the right one. “I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me” (102). He’s not drifting or wandering. He’s walking a path that’s marked by God’s Word.

This is where we need to be honest with ourselves. Some of us keep falling not because we aren’t trying, but because we’re not grounded in God’s Word. We’re trying to fight sin with willpower instead of the Word. We’re asking God to get us out of messes we keep walking into with open eyes. The psalmist didn’t just love the Word. He let it set his boundaries. 

That’s what the Word does. It convicts. It corrects. It warns. And if you ignore those warnings, don’t be surprised when you end up somewhere you never wanted to go. The guardrails are there because the cliff is real and it’s steep. The Word doesn’t just point you forward. It keeps you from falling off the edge.

Jesus modeled this perfectly. Right after His baptism, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Satan promised Him many things. He sought to get Him to sin. He sought to get Him to not fulfill the mission He came for, to save you from your sins. But you know how Jesus overcame the temptations every time? By the Word of God. The Word of God is as much our “no” to sin as it is our “yes” to God.

If you don’t crave the Word, you’ll settle for substitutes. (103)

He says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (103). The psalmist’s not just saying the Word’s useful. He’s saying it’s delicious. He doesn’t just say the Word is important or helpful or inspiring. He says it’s sweet. It’s a joy to take in. It satisfies. He’s using the language of craving, of hunger, of taste, because the Word isn’t just truth to learn. It’s nourishment to love.

Social media, Netflix, some guy on X yelling about politics…It’s a spiritual bag of Cheetos. Tastes good for a minute but then you’re orange-fingered and empty. I’ve done it. I’ll sit down for “five minutes” of scrolling and an hour later I’m an expert on why cats hate cucumbers. Meanwhile my Bible’s like “Hey I’ve got life in here but cool. Enjoy your cat facts.” That’s one of the reasons I’ve recently cut my hand off by getting a dumb phone. Just this week I switched to a Gabb phone intended for kids. It’s made some things harder, but man has it made life better already, cutting off my ability to gorge myself on junk food of the soul.

My kids are the same way with real food. Five minutes before dinner they’re begging for Goldfish crackers. I’m like “Guys we’ve got chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans coming. Hold off.” But if I let them snack, they’re pushing their vegetable around like “My tummy hurts.” The real meal both tastes good and has the nourishment they need. They would be malnourished by feeding themselves with anything they want any time they want it. So many people live their lives like that. Even Christians. And are walking around malnourished.

That’s us with God’s Word. We’re full on shallow stuff and wondering why we’re starving. If the Word feels bland, it’s not the recipe. It’s our spiritual tastebuds. We’ve been chowing on spiritual junk food so long we’ve forgotten what a steak tastes like.

That’s one of the signs of real spiritual health, that you start loving what’s good for you. And when the Word of God becomes your delight, you stop chasing things that leave you empty. This is why the enemy wants to distract you. He doesn’t have to turn you into a heretic. He just has to keep you from the table. Because if he can get you to snack on shallow things, he knows you’ll never develop a hunger for the rich truth God offers you every single day in His Word.

What are you feeding your soul with? What are you craving most? And if it’s not the Word of God, what have you let replace it? Don’t binge on empty calories. Come back to the table. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Let His Word reawaken your appetite for the only thing that truly satisfies.

The more you love the truth, the more you’ll hate lies. (104)

“Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way” (104). The psalmist doesn’t just say he avoids lies. He says he hates them. Why? Because the more he meditates on God’s truth, the more offensive falsehood becomes. He doesn’t just know what’s right. He loves what’s right. And because he loves what’s right, he refuses to make peace with what’s wrong.

We live in a world that wants to blur the lines. Redefine right and wrong. Make everything subjective and customizable to personal preference. But the person shaped by Scripture sees through that. The person shaped by Scripture doesn’t just recognize truth. They rejoice in it. And they don’t just recognize lies. They resist them.

When you’re soaked in Scripture you get this built-in baloney detector. It’s like having a friend who whispers, “That’s fake” every time someone says, “Money buys happiness” or “You’re fine living your own way” or anything else that is contrary to scripture and therefore contrary to human flourishing. The Word of God is what gauges within your mind and your heart what is truth from what is nonsense.

Loving the truth will cost you. It might put you at odds with culture. It might cost you relationships. It will definitely force you to confront sin in your own life. But when you love God’s Word you can’t cozy up to lies. You’ll hate every false way—not because you’re better than anyone else, but because your heart has been captured by something greater.

And that “something greater” has a name. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He didn’t come just to give us rules. He came to fulfill every one of them. He didn’t come just to expose our sin. He came to bear it on the cross. He didn’t come to shame you with truth. He came to set you free by it.

The psalmist hated every false way because he loved the truth of God’s Word. But all that love and longing was pointing forward to Jesus—the Word made flesh. He is the truth we need. He is the life we long for. He is the one who can change your heart so deeply that you not only flee from sin, but you run toward Him with joy.

So don’t just read the Bible. Run to the Savior it’s screaming about. He’s the truth that sets you free.