Practical Delight – How do we Actually Meditate Day and Night?
Blessed is the man (or woman) 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 (or her) delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he (or she) meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2
Reading Paslm 1:1-2, I hear God’s whispered promises: delight in the law of the Lord day and night and experience His presence, His blessing, His life-giving sap pulsing through me.
And then I wonder, how? Have you ever wondered what practically delighting in the law of the Lord day and night may actually look like? How do we do it?
If you’ve taken the time to memorize any scripture in your life, you’ve probably found that memorization is an incredible tool to help you reflect and think about the word more than just in the time dedicated to bible reading. And since the scripture is already in your brain, what if, when you’re up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep – with those crazy, fast and irrational thoughts racing through your mind – you use it as an opportunity to change the channel on your thinking and instead begin to tell your brain what to think. Begin whispering to your mind, “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….” (Psalm 23:1) say it over and over. Mull it in your sleepless mind.
Redeeming Down-time
As you’re driving, what if instead of thinking through the list of to-dos or replaying past conversations or mindlessly reading the billboards or checking out the new versions of the cars passing by, you begin reciting, “…He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me to still waters…”(23:1-2). Chew on it. Repeat it. Say it again.
Perhaps it happens on lunch break – you pull out your lunch and phone to scroll and relax. Instead, you pause and click on the Bible on your phone and have the audio version of Psalm 23 read outloud to you as you eat lunch.
Maybe you just settled kiddos into naps or rest time, as you load the lunch dishes and begin to tidy up, you remind your heart, “He restores my soul”(23:3).
You could be making dinner, cleaning up, folding laundry, mowing the lawn, or just plopping on the couch at the end of the day. In those moments, force your mind to talk to you. “Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – I will fear no evil, your rod and your staff they comfort me….”
Learning How to Delight
Whatever you are doing, wherever you are doing it, if you have any scripture locked in your brain, you can meditate on the word day and night.
And here’s a promise from Jeremiah:
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16)
Your words became to me. As we choose to make our minds rehearse and recall scripture already memorized, those words become to us a joy and a pleasure, they satisfy our souls.
Teaching our brains what we want to think about is the process Paul talks about in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” The result is that we are literally transformed when we choose to rest our minds on the word.
Even if you only memorized a few verses – you have the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God in you. You have everything you need to change the channel on whatever your mind is resting on, and switch it to think about the scripture you memorized. As we recite the passage and meditate on it, it soaks into our souls, and God promises we will be transformed.
David says it this way as a prayer and reminder to his soul: “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night (Psalm 63:5-6).”
Delighting in the law of the Lord is possible. It is satisfying. And it transforms us into his image one degree of glory at a time, that we might display his glory more and more each day.
