The Psalmist David gives us insight to the immense benefits of meditation in Psalm 1. Notice what he 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; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. 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” (Psalm 1:1-3).
Notice particularly that David said the person who will follow these instructions to meditate will prosper in everything he does. In fact, the person who continues to meditate on God’s Word day and night will be overtaken by God’s blessings. He becomes a success at whatever he sets his hand to do. He is linked to the Source of life so that, even in times of drought, his leaf does not wither or fade.
The world has been experiencing times of drought, but those who meditate day and night, observe and do what God says won’t be involved.
When we meditate day and night in God’s Word and it becomes our delight, we become immovable. We are like trees firmly planted by the water. Not only will we succeed, but we will also become a source of strength to those in need. That is true prosperity!
In both Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:1-3, God said that we are to meditate day and night. How is that done? Many times people have had the idea that meditation means reading their Bibles day and night. There are people who have quit their jobs so they could stay home to read their Bibles, but it has only resulted in failure. God’s Word says, “If anyone will not work, neither should he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10); and “But if anyone does not provide for his own…he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).
It is not possible to read our Bibles day and night. Even if we could make it through one twenty-four-hour day, that would be all we could handle. No one can continue reading day and night and expect to get anything else done in his life. Obviously that isn’t what God meant.
To live by faith does not mean “quit our jobs.” If a person is not successful in living by faith with a job, then he will never be successful in living by faith without a job.
God is fully aware of the fact that we have personal responsibilities, yet He has still instructed us to meditate day and night. Does this mean that God is unconcerned about our personal responsibilities? Is this commandment so unreasonable? Absolutely not!
Keep in mind that meditation is not just reading your Bible. However, in order to meditate, we must have a time of study and reading. Everything we meditate must originate from the Word of God. Yet it’s not the quantity of scripture we read daily, instead it’s the quality of time we spend when we read that’s important.
We should stop after reading a compelling verse and make a note of what it means to us personally and how we can apply it to our everyday lives. Then, we should purposely think about it throughout the day making every effort to remember what we read in the morning. It will make a difference in the way our day unfolds.
