“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8
A Dire Warning About Meditation
When a friend shared with me that she had begun meditating, I went back many years in my mind to a time I had excitedly plunged into learning how to meditate in a desperate attempt to find peace and a refuge from the trials in my life. A woman I knew gave me an emphatic and stern warning when I headed off on a 10-day silent retreat to go even deeper in meditation and other related matters. I waved her aside in my pride and arrogance and off I went with my bags and wide open heart. Little did I know how dark and deadly would be the depths to which I plunged.
My problem wasn’t that I craved peace and a refuge, nor was it that I desired to learn how to meditate. The woman I knew gave me the dire warning because she knew that I was not a committed follower of Jesus Christ and that I was not meditating on the Word of God, the Bible. I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but I was employing false religion and false gods in my practice of meditation and opening the door to Satan and countless evil spirits. I was on a pathway to hell. How deceived I was! The woman had warned me that God is a jealous God, but I was too arrogant to listen. The kind of meditation and related matters I was practicing were so prettily packaged, everything on the surface looked and felt so wonderful, in a fleeting way mind you. I was so desperate for hope that I refused to turn away until the Lord showed me the Truth, led me to repentance, and set me free.
At last, I have found love, peace, hope, joy, refuge, shelter, help, direction, and everything I could possibly need or want in the Lord and in my relationship with Him. And now I meditate every day of my life. I meditate on the Bible. The Hebrew word translated into meditate includes in its definition to ponder, and in its implied definition to study, utter, speak, and talk. I don’t just study the Bible. I am learning to live what it says. I read it, study, ask God questions, take notes, and throughout the day and night think about God’s Word. Oh, what love! What peace! What hope! What joy! What refuge I have found in the Lord! And how utterly exciting and humbling to be able to meditate on the very Word of God!
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6