God’s Word, My Meditation

“⁹⁷Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all the day.”

— Psalm 119:97 (ESV)

And there you have it. I choose God’s Word to be my meditation all day every day.

I admit that God’s Word has not been my meditation or my “delight” as James MacDonald puts it. His Word has been more of a “desire” for me. I have bypassed the “discipline” step and am firmly planted in “desire”. I want to be in God’s Word, but find myself distracted by the things of this world. Work, providing, getting along, all of which are distracting from my devotion to God’s Word.

Now, that last sentence above is not all bad. I should be concerned with work, providing and getting along. The thing is where am I placing those in the hierarchy of my focus. Am I placing them above the Word of God. That is where the “delight” in God’s Word comes in. Placing God’s Word at the top of my hierarchy is the priority. Not for me but for God.

It is what God wants of me and not what I want of me. It is getting to the place where I am taking things on in this world as God has planned for me. I should be doing that what God wants of me and not looking in the mirror to see what I want. As I look in the mirror I should be searching for the picture of Jesus as He stands with me pointing me the direction I should go.

By delighting in God’s Word, I will find myself seeking His direction at every turn. When it comes to work, it is His Word that directs me. When it comes to providing, it is He who provides for me to provide for my family. As for getting along, oh how much easier when God is guiding me. My delight in God’s Word gives all that I could want and therefor I am able to move forward regardless of circumstance.

Where are you as pertains to God’s Word? Are you still looking in the mirror and seeing yourself? What if you were to see God there with you as you move forward and knowing that He is getting you where you are supposed to be?

His Law in Your Heart

It seems as though there are new “laws” and rules popping up all the time. Whether it is related to online use or what is unacceptable in the driving through an area. But notice the way we look at laws, we tend to see them as restrictive and speaking as to what not to do. We may even dread the idea of having another law to keep up with and adhere. But let’s look here at what David says about the Law of the LORD.

“⁸I delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is within my heart.”

— Psalm 40:8 (ESV)

“²but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.”

— Psalm 1:2 (ESV)

I see that David is loving the Law of the LORD. He does not see any restriction and actually welcomes and cherishes the Law of the LORD by keeping it “within my heart” and meditating “day and night” on it. There is no what not to do, David sees the Law of the LORD as the what to do in giving and getting the most to and from the LORD. In fact, look at the volume of what comes from the LORD according to David.

“⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are more than can be told.”

— Psalm 40:5 (ESV)

They are too many to be declared to the world.

Here is what I am seeing and learned this morning. The LORD provides all, and I mean all according to His Law. He is gracious to the point of so much abundance that we cannot let it known the full extent. I am to keep His law in my heart, not to be sure of what not to do as it is not restrictive as one might think, but to delight in the wonder and greatness of the Law that allows me to give and get the most to and from the LORD.

What is your approach to the Law of the LORD? Are you working to be sure that you are doing what is “acceptable” and seeing it as restricting? What if you meditated on the Law of the LORD and kept it in your heart to delight in it, giving and getting the most to and from Him?

Be All About the LORD

This morning I am in Psalm 37 and am seeing the glory of the LORD manifest for those who are connected to Him. The thing that stood out to me this morning is that I have to be all about the LORD and give myself fully to Him and work to bring glory to Him always.

“³Trust in the Lord…

⁴Delight yourself in the Lord…

⁵Commit your way to the Lord…

⁷Be still before the Lord…

³⁴Wait for the Lord…”

— Psalm 37:3, 4, 5, 7, & 34 (ESV)

These are all there in God’s Word for me to meditate on. I am not just to accept salvation from the LORD, I am to be all about and all in with Him. Justification is gained once one has accepted salvation and the fact that Jesus came and paid the price for my sin in this world that I may not die of my sin. He came for that I would not have to experience the wrath of the Father as He took on the consequence of my separation from the LORD.

Being all about the LORD and all in with Him is a move to Sanctification as I work to remove the power of sin in my life. I will be judged as righteous when I trust, delight, commit, am still, and wait for the LORD. When I surround myself with the LORD and dwell in Him I will keep myself working for, in, and with Him and my focus will not wander into the temptation of sin. I am devoted to the LORD and His work and do not have the time or thought of anything else.

Every day I am tempted by the evil one to wander off from the LORD. Even as a child of God, I am drawn to sin and sinful ways. I am secure in my salvation thanks to the justification I have gained through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. My sanctification is the ongoing struggle as I work to overcome the power of sin. It is in my all in and all about the LORD where I will find relief from the power of sin as I find peace in Him.

What is your view of your relationship with the LORD? Are you content in your justification? What if you were to be all about the LORD and fully trust, delight, commit, are still, and wait for Him to avoid the power of sin that continues?