Meditating on God's Word

People in Christian circles often make reading and studying the Bible a major emphasis, and rightly so.  It is by reading the Scriptures we hear God's voice and can know His will, and God alone has the words of life.  The exhortation Paul gave to Timothy is fitting for all believers in 2 Timothy 2:15:  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Not only are we given the responsibility to read God's word and learn how to "rightly divide" it, but we have been given the Holy Spirit to help us to this end.  Jesus promised His disciples in John 14:26:  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

What is not emphasised as much as reading and study--yet remains indispensable for believers--is our need to also meditate on the Scripture.  By meditate I do not mean in a transcendental sense as the term is commonly used today, but meaning to ponder, consider and carefully weigh what has been said.  It means considering the context of the passage, the circumstances of what is being said, taking time to compare and/or relate it to other passages.  Meditating on God's word means reading, believing God is speaking, and taking it personally enough to keep thinking about what God has said.  It is not enough for us to look at food, but we need to chew it up and swallow it so our body can utilise the nutrition of every bite.  Every word of God is spiritual food for us.  Unlike food that passes through the stomach and is eliminated as waste, the word of God goes into our minds and hearts so that we not only retain knowledge but learn to order our thoughts, attitudes and lives according to God's wisdom.

Psalm 1:1-3 says, "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; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ 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."  David said the one who is alive, established and fruitful like a tree by water is he who meditates on God's law day and night.  The Law of Moses commanded kings of Israel were to write a copy of the Law to read every day of his life.  The ruler of God's people was to be one ruled by God's word.  It was not enough to be familiar with God's commands, for God's intent was for kings to submit to His word themselves and walk in humility (Deut. 17:18-20).  Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!"

When people bother to hide something, there is typically a reason for doing so.  It might be a bad reason, like to conceal contraband or to avoid being in trouble for having stolen property.  We can hide things for a good reason, because we realise we have something in our possession that is precious and we want to safeguard it.  God's word is not to be socked away like gold in a safety deposit box in the bank to be drawn upon only in times of desperate need but like a letter from one we love, our eyes hungrily devouring the words as we read them over and over.  Long ago reading the words of a single telegram message impacted the course of history, and meditating on God's word provides wisdom that transforms our lives when put into practice.  Hiding God's word in our hearts means we possess it, treasure it, are familiar with it, but we remain fascinated by all it means because it is our God's word for us.  As we embark on reading and studying the Bible, we begin to realise how much we don't know.  Meditating on God's word begins to fill some gaps in our understanding and personal application we never noticed were empty.