Do You Know Any Heart Words?

One morning before dawn, my oldest son, Matthew, and my youngest son, Joel, crawled  into my lap during my daily Bible reading time. Joel, in kindergarten at the time, declared with excitement, “I see sight words, Mommy.” “Which ones?” I asked. He proudly replied, “Lord, God, Jesus, Savior.” Matthew interjected, “Those aren’t sight words!” This ignited an argument between them. Matthew’s final score was announcing, “Those words aren’t on any of our teachers’ sight words lists.” 

Accepting defeat but not ready to fully surrender, Joel announced with calm confidence, “Fine, then they are heart words.”

“Heart words? What are heart words?” I asked him. Beaming with joy, Joel said, “They are words that make my heart happy and everybody should know them.”

Wow, what a concept coming from a five-year-old. It was definitely an “out of the mouth of babes” moment. Listening to him, I craved the childlike faith and overabundance of joy my son had. I then concluded I should apply the concept of “heart words” to my own life.

When I discovered Your Words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

Jeremiah 15:16 NLT 

Knowing God’s Word, and devouring it to feed my heart and soul, is a key to experiencing true joy. Reading and studying Scripture, to have it ingrained in our hearts, has more benefits than just joy. It provides wisdom, strength, comfort, and reassurance while deepening our relationship with Jesus. Too often we take His Word for granted, leave too much dust on its cover, or treat it like a chore. Sadly, most only turn to its pages in times of desperation or an afterthought when all of their self-made attempts have failed. When one thinks about it, the heart is so much better than sight. Heart knowledge is far greater than head knowledge. Therefore, I want to know God’s Word so intimately that it is a permanent part of my heart. When we begin to view Scripture as “heart words” instead of head knowledge words, we will commit ourselves wholeheartedly to it. Then it will produce a never-ending harvest of blessings served with a cup of joy overflowing. 

We are not to keep this joy to ourselves. As parents, it’s our job to teach His Word to our children so that they will know it better than a list of sight words which they’ll never forget. We must teach them the Scriptures so that they will truly know how to live for Christ.

Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 11:19-20 NLT

Do you know your “heart words”? Are you ready to make His Word the words of your heart? More importantly, are you helping your children make His Word the words of their hearts, too?