Meditating on the Word of God

I Have Meditated

Forgive me Oh Lord
For I have sinned in my heart
I have filled my thoughts with things I should not
Creating no room for you to dwell in;

I have meditated on the words I heard on the news
Now abides in me the spirit of fear, not faith nor peace
I have meditated on the lyrics of that song
Now I lust after those things that erode my soul
I have meditated on those words said against me
Now inferiority, hatred and unforgiveness are growing in me
I have meditated on those material things
That rob me of my riches and your purpose for them;

Soften my heart that I may permit the entrance of your word
Let me love your word for their magical touch
Teach me how to meditate on them
And let my thoughts be acceptable to you.

The Inspiration
“You are the fattest, ugliest person I’ve ever known. If I looked like you, I’d kill myself.”
Imagine someone said such words to you, touching your most sensitive spot (you know how ladies can be when it comes to weight). I heard them spoken to someone. She wrote them down to remember them. She said them over and over again in her heart and to people she narrated the incident to. And do you know what happened to those words? A lot. 1. She started believing them. 2. She started having low esteem of herself 3. She hated the person(s) that said those words to her and all she wanted was to see their doom as well as take revenge on them. She wanted to hurt them terribly. She wanted to speak death upon their lives because she was so hurt. The list is endless. Every time she looked at the mirror, all she saw was the fat, ugly girl who should have long been dead because no one wanted to be like her. She failed to see the gorgeous eyes, the soft palms people always wanted to touch and the delicious meals she was known for. I’m sure the only things that held her back from suicide were the pain involved and the US visa lottery she had been applying for.

Let’s go over what she did with those words.
1. She accepted them.
2. She said them over and over again,
3. She read them (because she had written them down)
4. She gave them some thought when she was not doing anything (and even when she was washing plates or sweeping the compound, she had the ability to go over those words).

The result was that they became “alive” to her and resulted in other (negative) consequences.

What had been done with those words is simple – they were meditated on. The dictionary defines MEDITATION as the practice of thinking deeply in silence; serious thoughts on a particular subject that somebody writes down or speaks. Most places in the Bible where we come across the word meditation, from the Hebrew translation this means MUSING – to think carefully about something for a time, ignoring what is happening around you. God gave man the ability to make choices. For us to make choices we have to think. Therefore, every one of us can think and hence can meditate.

Meditating over words has the power to make words alive to you. The life in those words can affect your spirit, soul and body. Meditation can be short or long. The longer the meditation, the more powerful will be the resulting effect (I think). David said, “Let…the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD…” [Psalm 19:14]. He was aware that whatever we meditate on becomes alive and potent. Think about it – how many sins did you commit without first committing them in your heart? Before you told a lie, did you not think about it? Before you sinned, did you not think it in your heart? Thank God that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus [Romans 8:1], I was simply trying to give examples. Similarly, before you decided to look after orphans and widows (which God accepts as pure and faultless [James 1:27]) you thought it in your heart. Before the word “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” made sense to you, you had to think about it (or has this word not yet clicked in you?).

What are you meditating on today? What are you spending time thinking about? Are they acceptable in the sight of God? Are you thinking about the cares of life, the words someone said to you, the property you desire, the person you’ve placed in your heart above God, the things you don’t have or the past that HE has forgotten? Or are you meditating on the sweet word of God, the most powerful words you could ever know, the truest words you could ever hear, the word whose entrance bring light, the only word that became flesh? Meditating on the Word of God yields only positive things.

Take some time out today. Meditate on HIS word. Read it, think about it, and say it. The great news is that no matter what you are going through, no matter what you are thinking, there is a Word for you – a word that makes all the difference in the world.

The reason why we should meditate is clearly stated in Joshua 1:8. We are instructed not to let this book of the law depart from our mouth; we should meditate on it day and night, so that we may be careful to do everything written in it. The benefit of meditation is that then we will be prosperous and successful. What more can we ask for?

Finally, Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things [Philippians 4:8]. For me, one thing that fits into this category is the Word of God. I hope we share the same view here.

Have a peaceful week ahead.