Psalm 119:15-16 (NKJV): I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
We are living in days where everyone seems to be hitting the floor running in the mornings and throughout the day. We have our mini-computers at our finger tips, smart phone, tablet, MacBook/Laptop, etc. On these devices we setup calendar reminders to make our next appointment/task. We search for info quickly so we can answer questions but don’t fully let the info sink in. We seem to be racing from one thing to another and then we come home and put dinner in the microwave oven or pre-made, store-bought dinners in the oven to cook. We even have advanced in technology that we have electric pressure cookers so we can eat somewhat healthy but not have to wait for the process/time for it to cook. We are just so busy that we don’t have “time” to wait for anything.
But wait. Look at what the Psalmist is saying he is doing in verse 15, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and I will contemplate Your Ways. Seems like he is saying, “I promise to hit the ‘Pause Button” on my life to spend time with You, Lord.” Let’s look at the definitions of meditate and contemplate for a minute:
Meditate: (As found on https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meditate 03/13/2018 at 11:33 AM MST)
1 : to engage in contemplation or reflection
- He meditated long and hard before announcing his decision.
1 : to focus one’s thoughts on : reflect on or ponder over
- He was meditating his past achievements.
2 : to plan or project in the mind : intend, purpose
- He was meditating revenge.
Contemplate: (As found on https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemplate 03/13/2018 at 11:35 AM MST)
1 : to view or consider with continued attention : meditate on
- contemplate the vastness of the universe
- contemplated the meaning of the poem
2 : to view as likely or probable or as an end or intention
- contemplate marriage
- contemplated a move to Alaska
It would seem that what is being said is, “I will focus my complete, undivided, attention to hear what Your Word says. I will not rush when I am learning about You. I will reflect on what You are teaching me for more than just a ‘millisecond’.”
A lot of times when we are getting started for our days, we tend to rush reading through our Scriptures for the day, say a hurried prayer and then go. Let me ask you something though, is you are learning about a new device, car, home, etc., do you just rush trough and hope for the best? Or do you take the time to learn more about it and how it functions and any thing that may be of concern? Sure, at first you may just rush into it, however, over sometime, don’t you go back and learn about the things you overlooked? Why is it that people spend more time learning about the things that are here and that will break, could get stolen or wear out and barely any time on His Word that stands all time, never changes, never loses relevance, nor wear out? In fact, it is the only thing that will carry with us when we die.
Malachi 3:6-7 (NKJV): “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?'”
Matthew 4:4 (NKJV): But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV): So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
I think of some of the greats like Charles Spurgeon who prayed for hours on end before he started his day, preached or did ministry. Martin Luther who had focused on studying what The Bible really said instead of what the “church” taught. There are many others who did things like these. If it were not for them, we would not have had a change into seeing what God’s Grace really is. We would not have any understanding of what a Relationship with Him really looks like.
Today’s charge for you is this, “Pause”. No I mean really “Pause” and listen to what He tells you through your readings and prayers today. Don’t rush through this like it is a “ritual” of sorts. Instead, consider what is said. If you use one of your devices to do this, make sure you spend time in getting to know and hear what is being said. Take time to learn about the culture of the day when Scripture was written, so you have an understanding of how it applies to you today.
Don’t rush in your prayers. Take time and search The Spirit to know what to pray for. Listen to what is going on around you to know how to pray. Spend time in listening to hear for answers to your prayers. Wait in expectation for them to be answered, because, He will answer the prayers of The Righteous Man (James 5:16). Don’t make your prayers about selfish things but rather about selfless things.
Turn your distractions off when you spend time with Him. Don’t let those phone calls, text messages, social media accounts, or whatever it is, keep you from truly focusing on Him in your time with Him. If you use a device of sorts to read and study and you are unable to keep it from distracting you when you study, then maybe you need to consider getting an actual book(s) to study and turn it off. Just think of it like you’re going back to school and you’re learning again. You removed, or should have removed, any distractions from your life, while you studied. The same principle applies here.
Finally, if you learn something from your time, don’t rush out and tell others right away. Sometimes in your quiet time, something maybe “revealed” to you, but will take time to develop. In other words, an idea may start to develop and what you may think is developing, may change over time because you’re still learning about what it is you’re learning. (So, that was a mouthful ;) )I am not saying you’re going to get a “new revelation”, I am saying that, as what happened while you were in school, an idea that you learn about takes time to fully understand before we can out it into practice. (Note: don’t make this an excuse not to change areas of your life that needs to change)
It starts with Our Relationship with Jesus. If you don’t have a Relationship with Him or you need to rekindle that Relationship, do it now. Call out to Him and seek his Love and Forgiveness. It really is as hard or easy as you make it.
We should look to Him daily to seek a relationship with Him. I want to encourage you to seek Him today, if you haven’t already. If you need help, have questions or need direction in this regard, please, feel free to let me know.
cross66info@gmail.com
+1 (505) 600-1027
Any scripture referenced here is taken from New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted
