A Resolution Worth Making and Keeping!

What if I could find one thing to do this year that will transform my life? That’s a tall order since the issue of resolutions surfaces every year on the heels of failed ones. The famous thinker, Anonymous, rightly declared, He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to. Where do you want to end up at the end of the year? My desire is to be more like Jesus, to know Him better, to love others more, to live what I believe. That is a tall order that can be attained because my resolution is to meditate on the Word of God.

There are only a handful of verses in the Bible that include the word meditate. Two of my favorites are Joshua 1:8, 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, and Psalm 1:2, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. A brief reading of these verses reveals several points of meditation: the importance of the Bible, commitment to personal study, obedience to the Bible which is Word of God.

Meditation is personal interaction with the texts of Scripture. It is the practice of focusing one's thoughts on specific spiritual matters. Charles Swindoll notes that meditation is disciplined thought, focused on a single object or Scripture for a period of time. It is more than just reading the words but understanding what they mean with the intent to obey.

Why can it be so life-changing to meditate on the Bible? Consider the following verses. Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 2 Timothy 2:15, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. It is the active use of the mind to engage God through Scripture. Meditation is discerning what God has to say to us. Charles Spurgeon, To believe a thing is to see the cool crystal water sparkling in the cup. But to meditate on it is to drink of it.

My desire this year is not just to know about God but to know Him. I believe that happens when I meditate on God’s Word. It is taking the study of the Bible and applying it to my life. John Bunyan who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress declared, The end of study is information, and the end of meditation is practice. In 2022, I want more wisdom and personal application instead of endless information filed away. Knowing God is a personal choice. Jesus proclaimed in Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

How do I meditate? There are several things to do that will turn reading into meditation. Consider the following when you open your Bible,

• Read it as a love letter from God to you.

• Read the Bible as for the first time.

• Read it repeatedly, patiently and expectantly.

• Read it for understanding with the intent to obey.

The Bible is not a book to be mastered but the only Book that can master us. I want a resolution for 2022 that is worth the effort. Knowing my Savior better, serving Him more fully, being more gracious to others, I want that for me and for you. Let’s dig deep into God’s Word and see what He will do in and through us for His glory.

Studies on meditation may be found under the Topical/Seasonal tabs. Consider the thought of George Swinnock (1627-1673), Our design in meditation must be rather to cleanse our hearts, than to clear our heads.