Meditate on the Promise Not on the Problem

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Quick Summary

We are to be meditating on God's promises to us rather than the problems we have. Two important things to meditate on are God's steadfast unfailing love for us and on specific promises he has made for the different areas of life. Fixing our minds on God's steadfast love through meditation helps to root and establish his word in our hearts. This creates a stable foundation in our hearts and then we can meditate on specific promises to help us bridge the gap between the promise and the fruit of God's promises. 

Recently I was praying about how to bridge the gap between what God has promised and actually seeing the results of it. We have been given the Holy Spirit to help us bridge this gap and meditation is also a tool that can help us bridge the gap as well. 

The word of God is like a seed and his word endures or remains forever. When we read the scriptures it is like planting seed into our hearts and meditation can help us to grow and cultivate the seed so that it produces fruit. But, when I began to study the Hebrew words for meditation it was something that was different than I thought. In Hebrew the word meditation means to mutter, walk, ponder, rehearse, and even to growl. The image I have gotten from this is rereading, muttering, and speaking God's promises over our lives consistently as a form or practicing and rehearsing so that when we need the promises they just come out of our mouths and in a way we growl at the problems by muttering the promises. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for all those watching, listening, or reading this and their families, friends, and all those connected to them along with our church and governmental leaders.

Thank you for releasing us from darkness and transferring us into the light, into the kingdom of your dear son. Thank you for your purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

I ask that you the father of glory would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we would know you better. That the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to know the hope to which you have called us, and the riches of your glorious inheritance that is in us, and the immeasurable greatness of your power to us who believe. The same power that you exercised in Christ when you raised him from the dead, and seated him at your right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,and every name that is named. Not only in this age but also in the one to come. And you put all things under his feet and made him to be the head of all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Heavenly Father, bless us and make your face shine upon us. Let us find grace and favor in your eyes.Expand our borders and our territory. Expand our capacity to receive your purpose and grace, and all that you want to do in our lives, and to let it flow through us so that we do good and are a blessing to people all over the world. Keep your hand on us and help us do TODAY what is right and best in your eyes. And to do it with peace and joy, and confidence in you. And as we do stretch out your hand to heal and do signs and wonders. And keep us from evil and pain.

Through the mighty name of Jesus. Amen

Communion Meditation

Recently my youngest daughter brought me a small pocket sized New Testament and asked me to read a story. Her favorite Bible story is Jesus walking on the water and she often wants me to repeat the story over and over to her. This is actually a form of meditation when children repeat the same stories, songs, or movies over and over. One of my fitness mentors once told me that he had seen some research that stated that children repeating things over and over was a sign growth and of their thyroid developing. The thyroid is responsible for our metabolism and the metabolism is what breaks things down and converts them into usable form for energy. As we meditate on specific promises of God it metabolizes them and turns them into fruit in our lives. 

When my daughter asked me to read a story to her I flipped open the Bible and it fell to the story of Jesus walking on the water. As I was reading the story something stood out to me that I had never seen before. We have been praying for months asking God to stretch out his hand to heal, do signs and wonders, and keep us from evil and pain. And as Peter began to walk on the water to Jesus  he began to sink because he was meditating on the problem rather than the promise. As Peter was sinking he called out to Jesus and it says Jesus stretched out his hand to pull him up. 

When we take communion it is a reminder of God's steadfast love. I think the most important thing to meditate on is God's steadfast love. What does it mean to meditate? Recently I began to study the Hebrew words for meditate found in the Old Testament. A couple of examples are when Isaac is about to get married and it says he went out into the field to meditate and when Joshua was preparing to take the people into the promised land God told him that by meditating in the Book of the Law day and night he would have good success. In these examples there are two different Hebrew words for meditate that are used. The meanings of these words are to...Mutter, ponder, rehearse, go for a walk, and to growl. 

We can begin to meditate on God's steadfast love. We can begin to mutter and rehears talking about God's steadfast love. Think about going for a walk every day and rehearsing, to rehearse means to rehear, scriptures on God's love for us. As we do this his word becomes rooted and grounded in our hearts and then when the issues of life come up we can growl at the problems and resist them as we mutter about God's steadfast love for us. 

In Ephesians 3 it talks about being rooted and grounded in God's love for us. Here is the passage from Ephesians 3 starting in verse 12. 

¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Recently my wife and I were working to level and grade an area in our backyard and we encountered some tree roots. Tree roots are very established in the ground. It takes hard work to dig roots out of the ground. Our goal is to become fixed and established in God steadfast love just like these roots. To become so fixed in his steadfast love that when problems comes we growl at them and mutter about God's love for us. 

The other day I had some issues that I was thinking about. As I rolled the problem over in my mind everything felt heavy. Then I felt God nudging me to focus on his steadfast love for me rather than the problem and instantly that feeling of heaviness left. 

In the Ephesians 3 passage it says that his love has us covered from every angle. He has us surrounded with his steadfast unfailing love and we should be focused on and meditating on this every day. 

With meditation I think it is good to start with meditating on God's love for us to create a stable foundation. Then it is good to find specific scriptures for specific areas of life. For example, seek God for specific promises to stand on for areas like purpose, health, family, finances, etc. 

For example, in the area of finances I use promises from 2 Corinthians chapter 9 about God is able to make all grace abound to us so that having all sufficiency at all times in all things and having all that you need you will abound to every good work. I had been rereading and speaking this promise for a while and recently when it came time to pay for something I found myself muttering this promised as I was writing the check. It was almost like I was growling at the need telling it that God's grace abound to help me pay the bill.  I didn't do this intentionally, it just came out. Meditation created the bridge that allowed the promise to come out when I needed it. 

For each area of life I think it is good to find scriptures that you can stand on. If you will ask God I believe he will show you which scriptures are for you. Then take the scriptures and keep rereading them, muttering them, and rehearse saying them regularly. 

Every time we take communion it is like an activation. Every time we take communion we are proclaiming the death of Jesus and his death activated the New Covenant. In this New Covenant all of the promises of God are yes and amen. When you take communion let it be an activation of meditation in our lives. That from this point on we will meditate on his steadfast love rather than the problem and we will seek him for specific promises that we can meditate on.