Jumping off last week’s blog on meditation, I now take it one step further. My point, that meditation brings insight from God, leads us to ask, “Is that the entire purpose of meditation, to give us insight into the text?”
In addition to Psalm 1 and 2 Timothy 2:3-7, another passage expounds on the reasons why God wants us to meditate on His Word. God speaks to Joshua, the new leader of Israel, after Moses.
“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 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” (Joshua 1:7-8).
Don’t miss the so that in the text. The key to Joshua’s success was not meditating on God’s Word—it was obedience to God’s Word, to do everything written in it.
OK, so what could Joshua do to insure his obedience? God mentions two things:
• 1. God’s law should always be on his mouth.
• 2. He should meditate on God’s law day and night.
Memorizing Scripture and meditating on it incorporates these two things.
By continually saying God’s Word and thinking God’s Word, we’re more likely to do what it says, and less likely to stray to the right or the left.
Did you notice that God did not say, “This law should always be within reach” (having it on your phone or on index cards)? We must keep it on our lips.
God’s promise to Joshua that he would be prosperous and successful did not refer to economic gain as some might suppose today. Rather it refers to the success of furthering God’s agenda, in Joshua’s case, the military battles ahead.
In the same way, a pattern of obedience allows us to be successful in advancing God’s cause.
Meditating on God’s Word day and night gives us insight into the text, as we saw last week. Continually keeping God’s Word on our lips and in our thoughts increases the probability that we will do everything written in it.
This passage epitomizes the heart of Bible memorizers—we don’t just want to know, we want to do.
How has meditating on God’s Word helped you to do what it says?
I had just recently memorized Isaiah 26:3, when the school my husband teaches at and our son attends was put under lock down due to a bomb threat. Within moments, my two loved ones were unable to leave, and I was informed of the danger. How thankful I was for Isaiah 26:3 and the time I had spent meditating on it! It says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” My job was not to have perfect peace–that was God’s responsibility to give me. My job was to keep my mind on Him–instead of on my worries. He is able to handle and take care of all that concerns me.
Wow, what a great example! Keep your mind focused on God and He is the one who gives peace. Nothing else can give true peace when our circumstances back us up against the wall. Thank you Susan for sharing with us.
Susan M.
That my friend was the quintessential illustration of how we are supposed to keep our mind on Jesus by meditating on scripture and not the circumstance. My tendency as a person born with anxiety issues is to freak out at the slightest chance my husband or children might be in danger. Thank you for sharing. I will remember that story forever and share it often. Especially with my youngest who has anxiety issues as well.
Janet,
This truly is the meat of why memorization is vital. The “SO THAT”… That would be a great name for a memorization group or retreat. That would get peoples attention for sure and they’d wonder what it meant.
It was meditating on Ephesians 6:17 that got me memorizing long passages: “And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).” This reminded me of (of all things) The Legend of Zelda, a video game that was popular when I was a kid, because it starts with an old man presenting a sword to the hero saying, “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.”
A similar meditation on that verse can be found here:
http://gamerfaith.com/dangerous-to-go-alone/
The Bible agrees with this idea in the spiritual realm (1 Peter 5:8, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). I knew I couldn’t have my Bible with me at all times, and even if I could, I couldn’t always take the time to flip through it when I needed it. So I had to memorize.
I had thought it impossible because I’m so busy, and I figured I’d keep on picking up verses through Bible study. But then we got a puppy, and I had no time or energy for Bible study. But God turned it into good, as He always does (Romans 8:28); I looked online, and learned that you had memorized Ephesians and many other books of the Bible in spite of being very busy. So, knowing that it could be done, I practiced on a few passages, and now I’m memorizing Philippians.
Thanks for sharing that Josh. Great analogy. Keep pressing on in Philippians. It’s an awesome book and you’ll be amazed at how much you will learn by memorizing. Even memorizing a familiar book will show you how deep you can go by memorizing every word. Press on!