Christian Meditation Part 2

As promised in my previous article, let us look at some practical applications of our meditation. Look back at our verse, Joshua 1:8, where we find some clues in the first and third phrases of the verse. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,” and “so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Meditation is to focus on how we can glorify God in Christ. Men of God, our faith in Christ is much more than just a profession and a promise. If all that was needed to live the life of a Child of God were to believe and receive the promises of forgiveness and eternal life, we would not need the church; we could, as many are attempting to do today, stay at home without ever assembling as the Church. As we have already begun to see, our lives in Christ are to be deeper than that. Calamay pictured it like this, “As the bee that dwells and abides on the flower, to suck out all the sweetness that is in the flower, so, to meditate on God and Christ, and the sacrament, is to dwell on God, and the sacrament, to suck out all the sweetness we can in the things we meditate on.” We do the Lord a disservice if we try to proclaim a faith we truly do not know or understand; a faith we have never truly given any real thought. 

Let me ask you, in the last 24 hours, have you considered what God has done in your life through Jesus Christ? Have you wrestled with how unworthy you are to receive even one of the promises made through Jesus Christ? Have you considered the frailty of our lives and the surety of Christ? How can we proclaim the benefits of salvation in Jesus Christ if we are not even sure what those benefits are? Too often, we walk our lives in Christ as if we suddenly decided we want to take that vacation right now and throw some stuff in a bag with no planning or preparation. Not checking to see if there are rooms available, flights open, or if we even packed the proper clothing for the weather. We go with the flow. Again, hear from Watson, “The second thing in meditation, is, a serious and solemn thinking upon God. The Hebrew word to meditate, signifies with intenseness to recollect and gather together the thoughts.” Have you spent some time recollecting and gathering together your thoughts of our Lord?

Note that the exhortations of this verse are two-fold. We should not speak or proclaim the Word of God without serious thought and consideration of what it says and means. Second, we must seriously consider how it is guiding our lives to glorify God. As we read in Joshua 1:8, “so that we may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Each day, we should ask ourselves, “What am I to do today to bring God glory?” Our daily personal devotions should include some “deep work” thinking about Jesus, our lives, and how we are to live them before God and the World.

My final quote of Thomas Watson in this article is this: “If ungodly men can meditate with delight on that which will make them cursed; shall not we meditate on that which will make us blessed?” Look at our passage again: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Focus for a moment on the last sentence: “For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Here we find the fulfillment of the question of how to be “strong and courageous.” The words “For then” tie back to “meditate on it day and night.” Joshua’s strength and courage, as well as ours, are directly tied to our meditating upon Christ and His word and works. Let me quickly dispel some thoughts that may take some down a rabbit hole of the “health and wealth” message. First, remember the context of this passage. God was speaking to Joshua about the task at hand, not about the economy and material gain. The words “prosperous” and “good success” are not addressing money, houses, cars, or any other source of material wealth; our meditation is to be on that which will make us blessed, not before the world, but before God! Second, by remembering the context, we are reminded that we are here for a purpose. Too often, we forget our purpose on earth. Our purpose, however, is clearly expressed in question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. “Man’s chief end [or purpose] is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Jesus Christ came and lived, died, and rose again that we might have forgiveness and life and that we might make that known. The profit and success we know and find are directly tied to what Christ has done in our lives and how we share that with others. If we have no idea what Christ has done or is doing in our lives, how would we even know if we are prospering or successful in glorifying God and enjoying Him forever?

As I close this article, I pray that I have opened your eyes a little to the lost art of Biblical meditation, and I invite you to challenge yourself to meditate on something today. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, here are some questions for you to ponder:

• What does the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to me? Read Paul’s wrestling in Philippians 1:19-30.

• How does my life reflect the life I profess to have?

• What keeps me from spending time in serious, deep thought about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? 

• How can my learning to meditate help me as a husband, father, elder, co-worker, and Christian leader in my community?

Men of God, you must not only profess Christ but must also know and dwell in His presence every day. I close by asking once again, what keeps you from meditating on the works and word of our Sovereign Lord? Let us pray that the Church will see a revival of Christian Meditation in the coming days.

Rev. Zavadil and his wife, Cathy, live in Knoxville, TN, where he works as a chaplain for the employees of Architectural Graphics Inc. He has previously served as a pastor at churches in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia Beach, VA.