Sweet Meditation

Sweet Meditation

I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

Psalm 77:11-12

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Joshua 1:8

Many of us wake up to the blare of the radio, then we listen to music in the car or on the bus, have the TV on in the background when we’re at home, and wear headphones as we exercise or do homework. For most of us, there is a steady stream of noise that takes up space in our heads and shapes our thoughts. We rarely make mental space for quiet reflection. Instead, when things get quiet, we look for something to fill the silence. But do you ever feel like your soul needs a vacation from the noise to get filled up with God? Does your mind ever need a break to think great thoughts about God?

David said, “May my meditation be sweet to Him” (Psalm 104:34, NKJV). Spending time in purposeful contemplation about God wasn’t an obligation or a duty for him. It was pleasant. He knew that he would enjoy the time he spent contemplating God, thinking through what God is like, what he has done, and what it means to him to be in a relationship with him. Meditation is when we call to mind, think over, dwell on, and apply what we know about the works, ways, purposes, and promises of God. In some ways it is like talking to ourselves. We talk to ourselves about God, sometimes arguing with our incorrect assumptions or reasoning through our understanding of God’s Word. Meditation helps us work into our thought patterns and plans the truths we’ve heard in a sermon or read in Scripture or discussed in our family devotions, before these truths slip away. It’s the purposeful process we use to enjoy God and sense his nearness to us.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Think through your day. What fills up your ears and your thoughts?

Is there a particular time you could use to meditate on a word, phrase, or passage of the Bible, or to simply think about God?

How can meditation help us sense the nearness of God?