Meditate – percolate:
What and How of a true meditation
January 11-
(We have published this second instalment of meditate-percolate, following the previous one, as we received the feed back that it was an edifying read! -Editor)
Let’s take this meditate-percolate idea a step further. (If you’re a tea drinker, substitute the word ‘brew’.) Maybe this will help you ease into meditation instead of feeling overwhelmed by the thought that you don’t have the time or discipline to do it. This is not an all-or-nothing challenge. Take small steps. If you have only ten minutes, maximise each one of them. You don’t have to read ten chapters of your Bible. You’re not doing a book report for school, and you’re not going to be graded on a test.
Read this verse and it will help you: ‘But the word of the Lord was to them, “precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little”’ (v. 13 NKJV). God’s Word is so rich with truth that you can take one phrase or one idea and let it percolate and brew in your mind, whether you have ten minutes or two hours. Instead of watching TV or constantly checking your phone for messages, just sit still, drink your coffee or tea, and let God’s indwelling Spirit interpret, enlarge, and enrich His Word as you roll it over and over in your mind. Think about it during your drive time, or your lunch or coffee breaks.
Some days you will feel like you have hit the jackpot spiritually; other days you will just feel like you have added a little more to your basic Bible knowledge. Consistency is the key. Do this for one year, and you will have 365 scriptural insights to draw on. Can you see how this could change your life for the better?
Bible meditation has fallen out of favour. Why? Because we live in an instantaneous society, and a preoccupied society. We have so much stuff coming at us from TV, mobile phones, email, texts, snail mail, satellite links, cable news feeds, and podcasts that we hardly have a moment to react – much less reflect. Get real! You can’t ‘download’ spiritual maturity by hitting a few keys on a computer. That’s why the Scriptures speak so often about meditation.
God, the author of the Bible, gave Joshua the formula for succeeding in your career and prospering in whatever you put your hand to: ‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth [speak the Scriptures every chance you get], but you shall meditate on it [when?] day and night, so that you may be careful to do [not just know, but do!] according to all [you can’t pick and choose] that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success’ (v. 8 NASB). Note the words ‘you will make’. To succeed in life, you must do something. Do what? Meditate in God’s Word! How often? ‘Day and night.’
So what portion of Scripture were you thinking about this morning as you started your day? Or while driving to and from work? For that matter, when was the last time you consciously reflected on any Bible truth or principle? If you can’t remember, start making some changes right away. Paul told Timothy: ‘Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all’ (1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV). And that’s still the rule!
