After the death of Moses, Joshua took over as the leader of Israel, and God gave him this instruction:
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Meditation is an abandoned spiritual discipline in the body of Christ, yet it is invaluable. When practised regularly, it deepens your relationship with God and transforms your life because meditation is a form of prayer.
Meditation means to mutter to oneself in contemplation or reflection. The meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words translated meditation in the Bible include: to converse with oneself aloud; to ponder; to commune; to declare; to pray; to speak; it also means to resolve in one’s mind and to imagine. Interestingly it also means to complain. That means when we grip habitually, we are building negativity in our soul.
Meditation involves the fixation of your thought processes on the word of God. It is creating mental pictures of God’s thoughts, which is His word, in your heart. It is reminiscent of chewing of the cud.
Meditation sponges up the water of God’s word into your heart and deep into your subconscious so that under any pressure or challenge life may bring your way, it is the word of God that flows out of your mouth, not complaint or griping.
Meditation in God’s word quickly transforms the reading, listening and studying of the word of God into meaningful reality in your life.
You may not be able to study or read the Bible throughout the day, but you can keep pondering on it day and night. Meditation is the only exercise the Bible admonishes us to engage day and night for us to have “good success.“
While I am not against other forms of prayer as these are essential interventions in our lives as Christians, the Bible makes it clear that through meditation we get to produce desired, permanent and consistent impact or transformation in our walk with God.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Meditation makes you become like a tree planted by a river. It causes your life to flourish and be fruitful. Like the palm tree, you can weather storms and still be standing while other trees would have been uprooted.
I believe the enemy has fought hard to deny and distract us from this discipline because of the tremendous power it can release in our lives as believers. Make the spiritual discipline of meditation a part of your life today.
Next, we look at sharing the word of God. Sharing the word of God is a process of discussing the word of God with at least one other person. Here, the saying that iron sharpens iron holds true.
As Christians, we do have a lot to talk about: politics, sports, fashion and etcetera. But how often do we ‘talk the word’ with one another? As believers, when we discuss with one another, the Lord listens.
Then those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name. And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
Finally, practicing or doing the word of God is the final leg in getting it to dwell in you richly. Practicing the word is similar to exercising your body. While eating right can result in growth, exercise results in development that increases our capacity to handle greater challenges.
I may have the same muscles a weightlifter has. However, I cannot lift weights that he is capable of because, through the discipline of physical exercise, he has developed his muscles to carry weights that are far beyond my capacity to lift.
In another way, doing the will of God or obeying the word of God is also food for your soul. Jesus said,
My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
When you have known or received the truth of God’s word, it is only when you continue in it that it will set you free. John 8:31-32, says,
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Now, if you understand everything I have spoken about so far, and you do not put the word of God into practice in your life, you would have wasted your time because your Christian life will remain unproductive as though you had not learned anything.
You could become like one of those Paul describes as ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. May that not be your lot.
We have discussed a few ways in which you can get the word of God to dwell in you richly: these ways are reading, listening, studying, speaking, meditating, sharing and practising the word of God.
Wait a minute! I forgot to mention memorising the word of God. On this David said, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Memorizing Scripture is one of the best ways to get the word into our hearts. This is especially true for helping children get the Scripture into their hearts.
When you hide the treasure of God’s word in your heart, you make your heart to become a treasure chest from which you can always draw beautiful nuggets to colour your life.
I remember, there was a time when I was a junior in secondary school that I would read the Bible because some senior would ask me what I had read in my Bible that day.
I may not have had the right reasons or attitude for reading the Bible then, but it sure got me reading it, and the more I read, the more I delighted in it. And I am grateful for such a time that those seniors made that impact in my life.
Friend, I want to encourage you to get acquainted with your Bible. Do not let God’s word be an ordinary thing to you. Let it be your life.
Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
References: Joshua 1:8, NIV; Psalm 1:1-3, NKJV; Malachi 3:16-17, AMP; John 4:34 NKJV; John 8:31-32 NKJV.
Read Parts 1 and Part 2 of You and Your Bible:
Part 1: https://solomonaror.com/you-and-your-bible-your-relationship-with-gods-word-part-1/
Part 2: https://solomonaror.com/you-and-your-bible-your-relationship-with-gods-word-part-2/
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