Sometimes our focus can be so misdirected. The meditation of our heart is so often not where it should be.
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. – Psalm 1:2 HCSB
It is easy enough to delight in the reading of God’s Word. But, how does that translate into ongoing meditation throughout the day?
For most of us, the alarm goes off and we long for a little more time in bed. We find ourselves frantically packing lunches, brushing teeth and making sure all of the children are fully dressed. We are thrown head first into a day of carpool, work assignments, grocery shopping, bill paying and on and on it goes. No matter how delighted we were during our Bible reading time, the stresses of life interfere and our minds become overwhelmed with deadlines, diapers, and discouragement. No wonder we struggle with the concept of meditating on the Word of God.
Why is it so easy to go from delighting in the Lord to the depths of discouragement so quickly? It’s because, at some point during the day, we are in the Word. We are delighting in the law of the Lord. He is the focus of our thoughts and our eyes are solely on Him. The problem is, at some point, we really do have to close the Bible and go to work…or go make supper…or go to the store. So, what happens when we have to go about the normal duties of our days?
That is why this Psalm tells us that blessed is the one who delights himself in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. We have to be able to take what He has taught us and the things we know to be true of Him and meditate on that during our days.
When we’re tempted to complain about some responsibility that we wish belonged to someone else…Do everything without grumbling (Philippians 2:14.) When we become annoyed with someone and want to say something that may cause hard feelings…If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18.) When we find it hard to believe that anyone could not believe and follow the teachings of Christ, we are reminded…The light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5.)
Tips for Meditating
- Be sure that you are, in fact, delighting in His Word each day. If you are delighting yourself in His Word, God will bring appropriate truths to your mind when you encounter troubles or disappointments in your day-to-day walk.
- Focus on Him. It is so easy to focus on what is going on around us. We find ourselves meditating on our current circumstances. We spend emotion and energy worrying about that difficult person in our lives or that situation that we can not change. We look everywhere except up. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning, I will direct it to you, and I will look up. –Psalm 5:3