Psalms 1 vs. 2 – “But his/her delight is in the law of The Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
There are two key words in this verse, “delight” and “meditate.” The root word for delight is ” to be inclined towards something” and from that we have, ” to find pleasure in, to be of value, or a valuable thing.” The best way to describe it is by answering this question. If we had one free hour for ourselves, what activity would you chose? It would obviously be something that we enjoy, delight in, or find pleasure doing, that is this word.
To “meditate” means to ponder, contemplate, take to heart or give serious thought to. When something is meaningful to us, we give study, thought and time to it, ” day and night.” And the knowledge gained in that transforms us. Therefore it is very important to chose those influences wisely. We are seeing the affects of young people’s “meditation” on things of violence, and how in time they act out the violence. Even in our own lives, that which we give ourselves too, stress, worry, fear, or faith, trust, meditation on God’s Word, etc., all have an affect not only on us, but on our families as well.
To “delight” and “meditate” does not mean you take the Bible and go live in a monastery avoiding one’s duties and functions here. It does mean though that the anchor of who you and I are becoming can be traced back to the times spent in the study of scripture. We may have very busy schedules with family and work, but when the “dust settles” we find ourselves reading the Bible. Of all the desires, this one has risen to the top and it is the first personal need we address. This desire or the lack of it, determines our ability to “weather the storms of life.” An active faith walk keeps us focused on that which is most important and enables us to trust God with the things that are beyond us. Without this, we lose our focus. God becomes small, problems become big, and as a ship caught in a storm we start taking on water. Unless we get rescued, we can sink as the problems drown us in stress and fruitless worry. A big God equals small problems, or at least manageable ones.
If I made one exhortation overall, this would be it. I find most believers spend very little time in personal devotion. Studying the scriptures, or praying for more than 5 minutes is just not something we do. If we read, we would rather read books about the Bible than the Bible itself. And though books can be helpful, they should never take the place of the scriptures. It is not the same, and our lives show the “disconnect” of faith when difficulties come. If being busy is all the enemy has to do to keep us from reading and spending time in prayer, then guess what, say hi to a life of being very busy.
The scriptures are God’s messages to us, drawing us into closer fellowship with Him. I have grown up hearing all critic’s of the Bible, and nothing that is being said now is new. The same criticism’s in a different package. Yet those that read from a heart seeking truth and are willing to accept correction, are blessed. And God’s blessings are evident in their lives. If the Bible is good enough for the Holy Spirit to use consistently to teach those that would read, then the Bible stands the test as the written Word of God.
So decide, there’s two paths, chose one. Don’t sit with the scornful, don’t stand with the sinners or walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Rather seek the narrow path that makes its way upward. Expect hard times, for the path is narrow, meaning constrained, forcing us to make decisions between this world and God’s calling. (Matthew 7:13,14) God is fitting us for a new life, a life that knows His love and forgiveness, His joy and peace and His wisdom and truth, and it’s WORTH THE PRICE.
Father God,
Thank you for these words of exhortation and encouragement. Please place in my heart the desire and need to be with you. Enable me to stop bowing to the false gods of this world that promise much, require much, but deliver little. Help me to dedicate myself wholly to you. Thank you and Amen.
Dios lo Bendiga – Arthur