Founders Ministries Blog
by Ken Puls
I love šGodās Word and delight in its truth. Yet too often I find that after reading my Bible or hearing a sermon, the truth, so necessary to the wellbeing of my soul, can too easily šslip away. The truth that had for a moment captured my attention and my affections can quietly š„fade amid the clutter and noise of the day.
One of the best ways to remedy this is to practice the spiritual discipline of meditatingāØ on Godās Word. It is a discipline that takes time and intention, but one that brings šgreat benefit to the soul. We need to carve out time to lay šhold of the truth of Godās Word.
It is a bewildering paradox of our day that the Bible can be so accessible and yet so ā marginalized. On the one hand our technology has brought Godās Word šclose at hand. Itās on our phones and tablets and computers and iPods. We have almost immediate accessš to several versions of the Bible as well as a wealth šof sermons and commentaries.
But this same technology also threatens to distract us and drown out Godās Word. We have become a culture obsessed with noise and comfortable with clutter. So many sources are bringing input into our lives: TV, radio, online news feeds, Facebook, Twitter.... More than ever šÆwe need to make time to meditate, to dwell in Godās Word.
Meditation šis pondering the Word in our šhearts, preaching šit to our own souls, and personally šapplying it to our own lives and circumstances. It is how we š„sanctify our thinking and bring it into šsubmission to Christātaking every thought captive. Paul tells us in Romans 12:
In Psalms 77 Asaph uses three verbs that capture the essence of meditation. When he finds himself perplexed and troubled and cries out to God, he determines to steady his soul by looking što God and laying hold of truth. He says in verses 11 and 12:
Asaph uses 3 verbs in the Hebrew to describe what it means to lay hold of truth: He says: I willšÆ remember, I will ponder, š„and I will meditate.
He begins with š”remembering (zakar)ācalling to mind āthe deeds of the Lordā and His āwonders of old.ā He intentionally takes note of truth and draws it back into his thinking. Asaph reflects on what God has accomplished for His people in the pastāevents and epics like the Exodus and Passover, the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, the conquest of the Promised Land. He makes an effort notšÆ to forget all the Lord has done.
David also speaks of šremembering God:
In Psalms 143, when David is overwhelmed with trouble, he uses the same three verbs as Asaph, beginning with āremember.ā
We are a forgetful people and God would have us to remember. Meditation begins with š·remembering, bringing back into our minds the truths and praises and promises of God.
But, second, Asaph also uses a word that is translated in Psalms 77:12 āI ponder.ā
This is the verb hagah in the Hebrew. It is found in numerous places in the Old Testament and is translated as āponderā ā or āmeditateā:
In Psalms 2 it is used of the nations āplottingā against God.
The word literally means āto let resound.ā It is used in Psalms 92:3 of the sound or tones of a musical instrument as it resonates.
It is used also in Psalms 9:16.
It is not entirely clear if the use of the word here is a musical instruction for the musicians to play an interludeāletting the instruments resoundāor if it is an instruction to the congregationālet this truth š¹resound within yourselves.
We find the term also at the end of Psalms 19:
In other words: Let the inward tones of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord...
This is how we want the truth of Scripture to āØfill us and impact usāas we hear it and sing it šÆand pray itāas Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16, let the Word of Christ dwell šin us richly! Let it dwell in us in a way that resounds and reverberates in and through our lives.
We see another use of the word in Isaiah 31:4 that helps us understand its intent. Isaiah uses the word in reference to a lion:
The word for growl or roar is this word for meditation. Have you ever heard a lion when he roars? He does not just use his voice. His entire being reverberates. This is meditation. Letting Godās Word š„resound from within the very center of our being.
Meditation involves remembering, and resounding, but finally Asaph speaks of meditating.
This word siyach means to muse and wonder and dwell onāto think šdeeply about something. Used literally it means to murmur, mumble or talk to yourself.
In a negative sense it can mean āto complain.ā It is the idea that something has so taken hold of your thinking that you canātšÆ stop thinking about it. So on the negative sideāit troubles you and disturbs you and draws out complaint; but on the positive sideāit captivates šyou and enraptures your thinking so that you ādwell onā it. This is the way we want šGodās truth to lay hold of usāso that we canāt but dwell on it, so that it captures our thinking and finds it way into our choices and decisions.
The Puritans thought of meditation this way as they described it as āšpreaching to šyourself.ā We take the Word of God that we hear šand read, and we mull it over in our minds and then bring it to bear upon our lives in personal exhortations.
It is a word that is found often in the Old Testament, especially in the psalms.
When we meditate weš think about Godās Word. We š”dwell on it and then as opportunities arise, we šÆpreach it to ourselves. We inject it into our thoughts as we make decisions, as we admonish and instruct our souls to choose right things and walk down right paths.
This is the essence of meditation. It is evoking the truth, šembracing it and embedding it in our lives. It is intentionally šfocusing on recalling Godās truth that it might šresound in our hearts and become that grid through which we sift and measure our thoughts and actions.
Meditation is a crucial Christian discipline and a vital means of grace that we must treasure šand practice. But it is a discipline that takes time and effort. Accessibility can never beat intentionality. Don't assume that having God's Word close at hand means you have it closeš at heart. Carve out time in your day to remember,šÆ time to ponder, time to preach što yourself.
The world around us can too easily chokeš„ out what is needful and good for our souls. Donāt allow Godās truth to slip away from you. Be intentional and diligentš and your meditation.
Dr. Kenneth Puls is the Director of Publications and the Study Center for Founders Ministries, Cape Coral, FL.