Truth For Life, Volume TwoSample

NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOUL

“His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” PSALM 1:2 (ESV)

God’s truth will outweigh and outlive all its detractors. As the prophet Isaiah proclaims, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

As the Psalter opens, we find that the blessed person—the truly happy one—delights in the enduring truth of God’s word. The very words of the Lord are precious to them; each word tastes sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10). Yet such a person doesn’t only delight in the law of the Lord; they also meditate upon it.

Meditation is akin to the process of digestion. It is possible, in physical terms, just to stick food in your mouth and do nothing with it, but that will add nothing of nutritional value to your body. We risk the same with God’s word if we come to it Sunday by Sunday and turn to it day by day without intentional meditation.

Often we feel as if our lives are racing by at 100 miles an hour. Daily time in God’s word becomes a chore to complete, just to say we’ve done it. Instead, we need to find ways to store up God’s word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). We need consciously to take time to chew it over, to ask throughout the day, “What does this verse really mean? How should it shape my thoughts and actions in this situation? What is it showing me about the glory of God? How might God use it to conform me to the image of Christ?”

We are not called to snack on the Scriptures but to feast on them. Since there is no end to God’s excellencies, there is no end to the riches of His word. What will it mean for you to meditate on it? By prayer, seek the help of the Spirit of God to harness your heart and mind to the text. Carefully consider what the Bible has to say. Ponder it. Probe it. Chew on it throughout the day to release as many soul-nourishing nutrients as you can. And as you meditate on the law of your Lord, ask God not just to increase your knowledge of Him but also to change you from the inside out to be more like His Son. As you see His word go to work in your heart and mind and life, you will come more and more to delight in reading it and living by it.

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?