I remember the first time I was introduced to the idea of meditation. I was told to empty my mind of everything and let it rest. Unfortunately I was told wrong.
In fact, an empty mind is a vacuum for temptation and evil. Instead, our minds should be occupied, full and active. You see, the concept of mediation has been hijacked by worldly and new age religions. But meditation was originally God's idea.
Just before Joshua led God's people into their promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey (or abundance and satisfaction), God instructed Joshua and the people:
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."
Joshua 1:8
God told the people to meditate
- on the Word of God
- throughout their day
- so that they would prosper.
Proverbs 23:7 says that as a man thinks, so he is. That which occupies our minds, guides our behavior. Unfortunately, left to our own thoughts, we're up a polluted creek! That's why the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2 that our lives will be transformed when our minds are made new. How does that happen? By meditating on God's Word, truth.
Philippians 4:8 encourages us to think only on those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. In fact, we are told to "dwell on" those things...meditate on them. So the best thing you can set your mind to thinking on would undoubtedly be scriptures, the very words which have proceeded from the heart of our God.
Don't know how to meditate? Well don't follow the advice given to me and empty your mind. Instead, focus on, chew on, ponder, mull over, circle and work out...truth...a Bible verse.
Do you ever worry? Then you already know how to meditate. Whenever you worry you're meditating on your problem. You've got the procedure down pat. You just need to change the focus of your meditation. Jesus told His followers not to worry or grow anxious. So we know that kind of meditation is fruitless. But when we meditate on truth, God's Word counteracts the lies we are fed by Satan, the world, and our own futile minds. Those lies drain us, starve us. But truth feeds our hungry souls.
For more pointers on how to put this spiritual discipline into practice visit my earlier post on this topic here. But it all boils down to finding a verse or two that speaks truth into your life on a topic with which you are wrestling or need a little encouragement, and then spending chunks of time throughout your day
thinking on and
pondering those verses in the presence of God. Taking your time, inquire about the scripture in
His presence. Give Him
time to speak to you through the scripture you've chosen, too.
More than any other spiritual discipline, meditating on truth three to four times a day has dramatically changed my life. It has transformed my life by changing my thinking.
Right now I'm meditating on:
Remember, this series of posts is all about positioning yourself so that you can grow spiritually rather than remaining a baby Christian. If you want to see measureable growth in your life, spend time each day meditating on (or eating) God's Word. And since most of us are prone to feeding our stomachs at least three times each day, I think it's reasonable that we set aside a few minutes three times a day to feed our souls with truth. Does that sound manageable to you? Believe me, it's worth it to develop this simple little discipline in your life.
Do you meditate on scripture? What are you chewing on these days?
Labels: 7 Keys to Spiritual Growth, meditation, scripture memorization
