The Meditation of My Heart

In my devotions this morning, I noticed a phrase that is only used twice in the entire Bible- "Meditation of my heart".

Psalm 19:14- "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Psalm 49:3- "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding."

This led me to dig a little deeper into the Word of Jehovah today.

The word Meditation is only used a grand total of SIX times in the Bible.

The two times listed above, plus- Psalm 5:1, 104:34, 119:97 and 119:99.

As I read over all of these verses today in their context, the Lord began to reveal to me a transition, or a growing if you will, of the person who is meditating.

Psalm 5:1- 
"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation."

In this verse, the Psalmist is focusing on Himself- "MY words", "MY meditation".  He is asking the Lord to consider him and listen to his pleas.

I know I've done this before. "Lord, please give me       .  I deserve it because I've done             ."

In Psalm 5, the Psalmist is praying a prayer for protection. He starts the prayer by saying "Hear me! Remember the good deeds I've done!".

Psalm 19:14-
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Psalm 19 is about the Law of the Lord, here are some of the previous verses- 

v7- The Law of the LORD is perfect,

convicting the soul:

The Testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple.

v8- The Statutes of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart.

v9- The fear of the LORD is clear,

enduring forever:

The judgments of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

v10- More to be desired are they than gold,

yea, than fine gold:

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

v11- Moreover by them is thy servant warned:

and in keeping them there is 

Great REWARD."

There has been a change of attitude here.

He realizes his words matter less and less, and Jehovah's matters more and more.

This Psalm is followed by a prayer for victory. 

Psalm 20:1 says- "The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee."

So, even though he is realizing that his opinion matters less, he is still trying to make his voice heard.

Psalm 49:3-

"My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding."

Instead of saying- "Hear me! Hear what I have to say!" (Psalm 5) or "Let me be acceptable" (Psalm 19), the Psalmist is now saying- 

"Lord, I have accepted You! I will speak of Your Wisdom, 

I will meditate on Your Understanding."

That is a powerful change of heart!

But I noticed something even more powerful. The next Psalm, Psalm 50 is titled in my bible as "God is the Judge", here's how it starts-

"The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:" (Psalm 50:1-3a)

So, not only is there becoming a change in how he is meditating and speaking, there is also a change of heart in how he's praying.  

He is no longer demanding, or asking, for the Lord to hear him. 

He is saying- 'God speaks and it is so.'

Psalm 104: 33-34- 

"I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

Here, he has gone yet a step further! He is no longer speaking, or asking to be heard. He is planning to sing to the LORD as long as he can!

He is now calling his meditation 'sweet'. He is glad whenever he thinks of Jehovah.

And further- Psalm 105:1-6 says- "O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy Name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and His strength: seek His face forevermore. Remember His marvelous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth."

He is now sharing the good news with others. He is telling others the steps he himself has taken to gain a closer walk with the Lord.

Psalm 119:97-104-

v97- O how I love Thy law!

It is my meditation all the day.

v98- Thou through Thy commandments hast

made me wiser than mine enemies:

for they are ever with me.

v99- I have more understanding than all my teachers:

for Thy testimonies are my meditation.

v100- I understand more than the ancients,

because I keep Thy precepts.

v101- I have refrained my feet from every evil way,

that I might keep Thy word.

v102- I have not departed from Thy judgments:

for Thou hast taught me.

v103- How sweet are Thy words unto my taste!

Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

v104- Through Thy precepts I get understanding:

therefore I hate every false way.

There has now been a complete transformation.

He meditates on the Law and the Testimonies of Jehovah daily, and it has completely changed his life.

The Law is the Word of God, the Testimonies are the acts of God.

So, by meditating on what the Lord says He will do, and meditating on what the Lord has already done, - it creates in the heart-

• a love for the Law
• wisdom greater than your enemies have
• more understanding than your teachers
• more understanding than the ancients
• a desire to refrain from doing evil
• not departing from the judgments of the Lord
• a desire for the words of the Lord above honey ("good" things of this life)
• a hatred for the false ways of the world.

I think back to Psalm 19:11- "...and in keeping them (the Law of the Lord) there is GREAT REWARD."

The eight things above are just some of the rewards of following the Lord.

Oh, Heavenly Father! Help me to meditate on Your words and testimonies above all other things in my life!

Are you meditating on the Word of the Lord? Do you think on the testimonies of His faithfulness in your life and the lives of others? 

If you do, it could result in some heart-changing, mind-blowing, life-altering times with the Lord!  

But- 

What should we desire more than that?

Delight In the Lord

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."

Psalm 37:4-5

I have heard Psalm 37:4 several times in my life. I have even quoted it many times.
Which is why I am ashamed to admit- I don't quote verse 5 very often, if ever.

The question I ask myself is-
Why don't I quote verse 5?
Verse 5 is where the secret lies for getting the desires of our heart!

So- the question arises- How do we get the desires of our heart?

Let's take a moment and look at some definitions-

Delight:
(From Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
A High degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; joy.
That which gives great pleasure; that which affords delight

Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, 
and not dependent on sudden excitement.

Based on the above definition, Do I delight in the Lord?
Does my greatest joy and satisfaction come from Jehovah?

If the answer is no, then I need to do some serious soul searching!

I really like the second part- Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy.
If the Lord is truly my delight, than it will not matter what is going on around me.
I will still find delight in my Heavenly Father.


Commit:
(From Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
Literally, to send to or upon; to throw, put or lay upon.
To give in trust; to put into the hands or power of another; to entrust

Have I committed my way to the Lord? 
According to the definition, to commit my way to the Lord means to completely 
give Him control. To place it in His hands and entrust the outcome to Him!

Trust:
(From Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
Confidence; a reliance or resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, 
justice, friendship or other sound principle of another person.

Read the above definition a couple times. Let the words sink in.
The verse says- Trust also in Him.
Let's replace the word trust- 
Rest your mind on the justice of the Lord.
Or how about this one-
Place your Confidence in Him.

Once you commit your way to the Lord, you must keep it there.
How do you do that? 
By trusting that the Lord will do what is best for your life!

So how do we get the desires of our heart?
Delight in the Lord.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust in the Lord.

What I find so absolutely fascinating about these verses, is the fact that even 
though "He will give thee the desires of thine heart" is in the middle of the verses, 
the two verses in their entirety are the road map to complete joy!

Delight.
Commit.
Trust.

When we continually seek to delight in the Lord, commit our way to Him, 
and trust in Him, He is faithful to give us our desires.

That doesn't mean we are going to get a Lamborghini, a mansion in Beverly Hills,
or anything else materialistic that we might 'desire' in this life.

What it means is that the Lord will change our desires to fit what He has 
in store for our lives.  

So, my brothers and sisters, may we all learn to more fully
Delight,
Commit,
and
Trust
in the plans that our Heavenly Father has in store for our future!

The Greatest Valentine

The Greatest Valentine Ever Given

For God- The Greatest Being in the Universe

So Loved- The Greatest Affection

The World- The Greatest Object

That He Gave- The Greatest Action

His Only Begotten Son- The Greatest Gift

That Whosoever- The Greatest Invitation

Believeth in Him- The Greatest Method

Should not Perish- The Greatest Promise

But have Everlasting Life- The Greatest of all

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life."

~ John 3:16

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, in case you've missed the big pink and red hearts in all the stores, and all of the TV commercials...

News Flash!!!

Valentine's Day is TOMORROW. 

For some of you, you are getting ready to celebrate with the man or woman you love.

For the rest of us, we are getting ready to celebrate S.A.D. (single awareness day) instead.

But, as this post from VisionaryDaughters.com says- don't wallow in the pool 

of self-pity because you don't have a Knight in Shining Armor or a Maiden Fair, 

use this time to really look at yourself and say- 

"Hey- Am I ready for my Knight in Shining Armor/Maiden Fair?"

If the answer is no, then lets make the decision today to get ready!

Valentine’s Day may be a happy time for couples, but it’s often a painful reminder for single Christian women of what they’re still praying for, hoping for, and – sigh – waiting for. Many of us don’t have a valentine this year because we’ve been holding out for someone special. We have high standards, and we’ve stuck to them, and now we’re having to eat the fruits of this resolve (instead of Godiva chocolates).

High standards and faithful perseverance are noble things. But sometimes we need to re-examine the honesty of our standards, and the whole spirit in which we devise them. Some of us, whether we know it or not, have made lists of suitor-requirements that look like this:

Dear God,

I have been very good this year, and I would really like it if you would bring me a husband who:

Is working to become just like Christ

Will love me just the way I am

Speaks several languages and plays several instruments

Will look past my inadequacies to see only my inner qualities

Is handsome

Will not be so carnally minded that he will care about the way I look

Isn’t interested in money

Can support me in the style I would like to be accustomed to

Is completely sold out for God

Will let me be myself

I know these are very righteous things to desire, and I have been patiently waiting and have not compromised my standards, so can you please reward my faithfulness now? Thank you.

Love, Janey

It’s good to develop noble standards for the kind of man we want to marry, but simply having a preference for good men doesn’t make us worthy of them. We often have lofty demands for suitors (well, not that lofty – just that they have Jim Elliot’s heart, C. S. Lewis’s mind, William Wallace’s courage, Clark Gable’s face, Cary Grant’s clothes, Josh Groban’s voice…), but we want them to love us just the way we are. So the men we want to marry often don’t really exist – and if they did… well… why would they want to marry us?

Janey apparently hopes that her paragon of glowing character and accomplishments won’t mind that she is (apparently) shallow and materialistic, has qualities buried so deep there’s no danger of anyone ever finding them, is not-quite-sold-out for Christ herself… and is not interested in changing. But then, we don’t really want what we deserve, do we?

So, we make our wish lists and pray that we get Missionary Martyr Malibu Ken for Christmas. But what will we have to offer him? How are we preparing to be what hemight need in a wife? How long are our lists of standards and requirements for ourselves?

Our aspirations to be married to fine husbands are good; but then, that’s an aspiration that the Cinderellas and the ugly stepsisters of the world have always had in common. We need to step outside of our imaginary roles as the heroines of our own personal fairy tales, and ask ourselves: Which one am I? Why would the prince choose me?

The bad news is, none of us are naturally likeable, desirable, or eligible. Because of sin, we all start out as ugly stepsisters, and we don’t automatically become Cinderella upon reaching marriageable age. The good news is, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” (1 Pet. 2:24) And the rest of the good news is, if you find yourself Valentine-less this Valentine’s Day, that means the Lord is giving you more time to die to sin and live to righteousness, more time to make yourself ready, more time to become a better gift.

Ladies, let’s decide to do our (future) husbands good on this day (Prov. 31:12), instead of moping about the good they’re not here to do for us. On a day when women all over the world will be thinking about what they want to get from a man, let’s think instead about we’re preparing to give to one.

(With excerpts from It’s (Not That) Complicated)