Meditating In The Word
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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
How can your spirit be educated and trained? How can your spirit be built up in strength? There are four steps: (1) Meditating in the Word; (2) Practicing the Word; (3) Giving the Word fist place; and (4) Obeying your spirit. We will study these four steps in this week and next.
What God said to Joshua will work for everyone. If God didn’t want Joshua to be prosperous, why did He tell him how to prosper? If God didn’t want him to be successful, why did He tell him how to have good success? But God wanted Joshua to be prosperous and successful. And He wants you to be prosperous and be successful too! Furthermore, God has given us directions in this verse.
Paraphrasing this truth into New Testament language, God simply said, “The Word of God (particularly the New Covenant or New Testament) shall not depart out of your mouth. But meditate in it day and night… for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success in life.”
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. — Psalm 1:2,3
If you ever want to do anything great in life—if you ever want to amount to anything in life—take time to meditate in the Word of God. Start out with at least ten or fifteen minutes a day, and build up. That’s what God promised: “… For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” This verse works! Whether you are in the ministry or raise cows or sell goods!
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. — James 1:22
Your spirit can be developed by four things. We have just examined the first: meditation. Now we will look at the second: practicing the Word. Practicing the Word means being a doer of the Word.
There are talkers about the Word. And even rejoicers about the Word. But we don’t have many doers of the Word.
Practice being a doer of the Word. Under all circumstances, do what the Word of God tell you to do.
Some think that being a doer of the Word is simply keeping the ten commandments. No, that’s not what James 1:22 means. After all, under the New Covenant, we have only one commandment—the commandment of love. If you love someone, you won’t steal from him. You won’t lie about him. Paul said that love is the fulfilling of the law. If you walk in love, you won’t break any law that was given to curb sin. So, if you are a doer of the Word, you will walk in love.
But being a doer of the Word for New Covenant Christians means doing primarily what is written in the Epistles. Those are the letters written to the Church. They belong to us, and we are to them.
Make the following confession:
The Word of God shall not depart from my mouth, I shall meditate in it day and night. Therefore, I shall make my way prosperous, and I shall have good success in life! I take time everyday to meditate in God’s Word! I am a doer of the Word, not just a hearer only!