The author Richard Foster says that our enemy majors in things like noise and hurry. The devil would be satisfied for the majority of our lives to be consumed with “much-ness” and “many-ness” because such a life is a superficial life. But spiritual growth rarely occurs when we’re in a hurry. God seems to work at a much slower pace. Instead, spiritual growth often occurs when we slow down and engage in moments of reflection and meditation. And that’s what we’re talking about today: the spiritual discipline of meditation.

Biblical meditation has a long and rich history. I need to say this because I have a feeling that many of us have a very particular understanding of the word. When you hear the word “meditation,” I imagine most of us think of something like this:

For many people, the word “meditation” conjures up ideas of Zen Buddhism or sitting cross-legged on the floor, trying to achieve a deeper level of consciousness — something along those lines.

But the idea of meditation found in the Bible is quite a bit different. Biblical meditation looks more like these two images:

Adele Calhoun has a definition of Christian meditation I really like: “Meditation is a long, ardent gaze at God, his work and his Word.” Christian meditation is about reflecting on God’s work and God’s Word. It’s about slowing down to reflect on His goodness in creation or to reflect on His promises in Scripture.

We live in largely unreflective times. Almost everything about life today is designed to keep us distracted or busy. But intentional Christian meditation runs counter to this. It is about giving God my undivided attention, reflecting on His work and His Word — to put it another way, reflecting on what God has said, but also on what God has done.

• Meditating on God’s Word is different than Bible study.
  • Bible study is about exegesis, about engaging the mind in analysis of Scripture. You can study a passage all day long and still fail to enter into the reality to which it speaks.
  • But biblical meditation is about internalizing God’s Word at the heart level. It’s not about some rigorous analysis of Greek and Hebrew words. It’s about receiving God’s Word into your heart and your soul, letting it become a part of you.
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “Just as you do not analyze the words of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did. That is meditation.”
  • This kind of meditation keeps us from passing over God’s Word in a superficial manner. It takes us deep into the heart of what God has said.
• Likewise, meditative reflection on God’s works helps us to see the depths of God’s activity in our lives.
  • We can reflect on God’s glory as revealed in His creation. This kind of meditation helps us see God’s hand in the everyday moments of our lives.
  • Harriet Tubman is known for her work to help liberate slaves through the Underground Railroad. She was compelled to do this because she was also a devout believer. She spent a lot of time meditating on Scripture. One of her favorite passages was Isaiah 16:3, “Hide the outcasts; betray not him that wandereth.” She pondered these words and turned them into prayers, which led her deeper into God’s presence.
  • She told her biographer, “I prayed all the time, about my work, everywhere; I was always talking to the Lord. When I went to the horse trough to wash my face and took up the water in my hands, I said, ‘Oh, Lord, wash me, make me clean.’ When I took up the towel to wipe my face and hands, I cried, ‘Oh, Lord, for Jesus’ sake, wipe away all my sins!!’ When I took up the broom and began to sweep, I groaned, ‘Oh, Lord, whatsoever sin there be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, clear and clean.'”
  • That’s an example of someone who has meditated on God’s Word and God’s works.

With this in mind, I want to share a few scriptures that speak to this idea of meditation.

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Psalm 19:1, 14

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

David confesses that God’s work in creation declares His glory. Maybe you’ve experienced this overwhelming sense of God’s glory in creation as you witness the beauty of a sunrise or the breathtaking view from atop a mountain.

Creation tells a story — it tells of our Creator and His power and His glory. We need to reflect on that story. Paul talks about this in Romans 1, saying that creation is a reliable source of knowledge about God and that we are without excuse because all humanity has access to this knowledge. Just look around.

Because of this, David is prompted to say Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you. David sees evidence of God’s glory all throughout creation. In humility, he meditates on this.

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Psalm 77:6, 11-12

I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.”

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.

The writer of this Psalm, Asaph, recognizes God’s faithfulness. Through meditation, he is personally remembering and reflecting on God’s mighty deeds. And the primary example he goes on to write about is the Exodus when God set His people free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

You can read the story of the Exodus with your mind. You can ask questions about the date of the Exodus and which Pharaoh was in power and all of that. And that’s a perfectly fine way to read the story. But if that’s the only way we read the Exodus, then we’re missing something. To read with the mind and not the heart is to fail to internalize and personalize the story. The Exodus is a reminder of God’s mighty deeds, His wonders, His work. It’s a reminder that God leads me in the same exodus: out of the land of sin and into the land of promise. Through meditation, this story becomes personal to me.

That’s what we’re getting at with this idea of meditation. It’s reflection at that personal level.

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Joshua 1:8

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

This passage makes it clear that God wants His law to be on His people’s lips. He wants His people to meditate on His Word, to commit it to memory and say it aloud as they go about their day.

• The word here for “meditate” is a Hebrew word that is used to describe the growl of an animal. Eugene Peterson invites us to think about the sound a dog makes when it has a bone. He says that’s what that Hebrew word means. That dog is “meditating” on the bone, worrying at it, gnawing at it, savoring it.
• And this is a helpful way to think about what God says about His Word. He doesn’t want us to simply read over His Word, once and done, I’ve got my Bible reading for the day – but rather, He says to meditate on it, savor it, let it sink in beyond the superficial level. Like a dog gnawing on a bone, so do I need to return to the word of God over and over.
• That’s what it means to meditate on the Word of God.

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Psalm 1:1-2

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

The Psalms begin with these two paths: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.

• The admonition here is NOT to walk in the counsel of the wicked. John Ortberg says this is the way everyone else thinks and talks and acts. It’s the godless wisdom of the world. It’s those who manipulate the truth, those who call good evil and evil good. In every generation, it is a temptation to adopt the “group think” of worldly wisdom.
  • Notice the progression: he goes from walking in the counsel of the wicked to standing in the way of sinners to sitting in the seat of scoffers.
  • From walking to standing to sitting. Isn’t that how sin works? You’re walking off the path of God’s will and then you go from walking to standing — just stay right here for a while, the devil says. And before you know it, you’re sitting down, not moving at all — because Satan has his hooks in you.
• But the Psalmist warns against this — for this is the way of destruction, as it says at the end of the Psalm.
• Instead, we are to walk in the paths of righteousness — the path of true justice and godly wisdom. Such a person delights in the law of the Lord. He or she meditates on the law day and night.
  • Do you delight in the law of God? Do you delight in His precepts, His commands, His instruction?
  • I love what Rosaria Butterfield says: You cannot separate God’s love from God’s law. God gives His commands as an extension of His love.
  • The Scriptures say that the good life is a life spent meditating on the law of God. The world says the good life is a life free from all restrictions, to be your own “god” and live life according to your own determination of right and wrong. God’s Word says otherwise.
  • This is why meditation on God’s Word is so important.

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The devil’s strategy seems to be largely focused on two things: worry and hurry. If the devil can get you to worry and get you to hurry, he has you right where he wants you. One of the ways we counter that is through meditation: by slowing down and reflecting on God’s Word and God’s work.

This is one of the primary ways I’ve seen that God transforms our desires. When we spend time reflecting on God’s Word and God’s work, our desire for God and His Kingdom begins to grow. It forms in us the desire Jesus commands in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness….

Are you seeking the Kingdom of God today?