Today is National Student Day.

What kind of student are you? When you come home from school, do you: (a) immediately crack the books; (b) grab a snack, watch a few TV shows, and then hit the books; or (c) What? Do we have homework tonight?

When you are given a chance to do extra credit assignments, do you: (a) thank the teacher and immediately get to work; (b) consider how much time is involved and how much you really want to raise your grade before tackling extra credit; or (c) figure anything that has the word extra in it means just that—extra work. No thank you.

When there is something you don’t understand in school, do you: (a) ask questions until you do understand; (b) wait until you see if it’s going to be on test and then ask your best friend to explain it; or (c) figure that eventually you’ll understand it by the time you graduate from high school.

If you answered mostly a’s, then good for you! You are a true student. But really, anyone can be a student—no matter how old. The dictionary describes a student as one who is an attentive learner and sharp observer. You can study anything—from bugs to rap, from computers to the arts. You also can be a student of God’s Word. Psalm 119—the longest psalm ever written—is all about the benefits of studying God’s Word every day.

Here are just a few of those benefits—we’ll be happy (v. 2); we’ll stay pure (v. 9); we will have understanding (v. 34); we will find comfort (v. 50); and we will find guidance (v. 105) and great peace (v. 165). Because of that we should, like the psalm-writer says, delight in God’s Word, meditate on it daily, put it into practice and live by it daily, and hide God’s Word in our hearts.

What kind of student are you of God’s Word?

How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word (Psalm 119:9, The Message).

To Do

Take the challenge and read Psalm 119. You may want to read it over several days. Or read it aloud with another friend or family member. Underline the verses that mean the most to you.

Also on this day

1881—Chester A. Arthur became the 21^st president. President James A. Garfield had died the day before.

1921—KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA became one of the first radio stations to offer a daily newscast.

1952—James Meredith, an African-American student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett. Meredith was later admitted.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.