Psalm 1:1-3 Meditate on the Word(2)
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (RSV).
To know the heart of the Lord, to hear Him when He whispers, to draw His deep meaning from His Word, to know His desire for my life, to learn how to please Him, to know Him intimately—these are the desires of my heart. To achieve any of these desires, I need to draw close to Him. I need to spend time with Him, and I need to read and understand what He has caused to be written about Himself. I can read five chapters a day or ten chapters of the Word a day until I have read through the Bible, and I can then say, “I have read through the Bible this year.” Whoopee, and what do I remember? Do I know Him better today than I did when I started? Not if I’ve charged through His Word just to get it done! I would rather take five years or even ten years to read through the Bible and come to know His heart. That takes time. That takes effort. That takes trust in Him. That takes perseverance, but what it really takes is love. If I love Him, I will spend whatever time and effort it takes to learn His heart. The advice of many authors who write of meditating upon the Word is: pray first and then read slowly, repeat the reading often, read it aloud, ask yourself questions, ask God to lead you, ask God to speak to you, and then listen, for He will answer. Then you will have drawn closer to God. You will have learned of His heart, and your heart will be blessed and your spirit will be quickened, and your desire will be to read more and meditate more. What a journey awaits us when we commit to meditation upon the Word of God.
1 Comment