Revolving the Word Bible Reading: Joshua 1
Apostle Paul once prescribed a principle to Timothy that would lead to his spiritual growth and maturity, and this principle has been effective in every generation:-
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. (I Timothy 4:15 – KJV)
I really love the way The Message Translation described the effect that meditation will produce. It says “…The people will all see you mature right before their eyes!”
Do you want to see yourself mature spiritually? Then you cannot shy away from meditating on God’s word.
The root word for meditate in Greek and Hebrew language can also be translated as “to ponder”, “to imagine” or “to revolve in the mind”. When you revolve something, you can see how it looks like from different sides. You can appreciate the effect it can have when handled from different positions just like the earth experiences different effect when it revolves. Many believers read the bible, but they do not think about what they read. It’s like eating food without digesting food; you will not grow physically that way. Likewise, meditation on God’s word is to our life what digestion of food is to our body.
When you take in the word, you have to continuously revolve it in your mind. One way to do this is by asking the right questions and trying to answer them with scriptural proofs. I am really finding it difficult to explain meditation in few lines. So I want to try to simulate it, perhaps you may get a clearer picture of what I mean.
Let’s try to revolve Colossians 1:12-13 – Giving thanks unto the Father … Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Okay, this is an instruction to Christians. Why? Because Verse 2 of the chapter says the book was written to saints and faithful brethren. We are expected to give thanks to the father. Who is this father that I should give thanks to? My earthly father; my father in church; or my father in heaven? Perhaps the preceding verses, subsequent verses or the remaining part of this verse can tell us. The later part of the verse tells us why we should give thanks. First; the father has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath transferred us into the kingdom of his son. Whao! I have been delivered from the power of darkness. But what does it really mean to be delivered from the power of darkness? Does it mean that I was once subject to the direct influence of the devil and his cohorts and right now they do not have power over me? Which other verses of scripture is saying the same thing? But sometimes I am afraid when people talk about witches or cultist; isn’t that really wrong for a child of God? Yes! I remember one pastor once said that one Christian sister was a witch? Could that be true? How can she be delivered (free from evil) and yet be under the devil’s sway. Whose report should I believe? But that’s not all; the later part of this verse says we have been translated into the kingdom of God’s son. This sentence connotes a past tense and it talks about something that has already happened. That means right now I am in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. But I am still on earth. So what does this kingdom really mean? What is the effect of being in this kingdom and how should I conduct myself now that I reign in the kingdom of Christ?
Hmn! Based on this my understanding, henceforth I will no longer be afraid of the devil and his cohorts. In fact I am on the offensive side and not on the defensive. When evil spirits saw Jesus, they ran away and sometime negotiated with him that he should cast them into swine. I am now in the Kingdom of Jesus and in this empire; all powers are subject to us … and so on … and so forth.
Beloved, by the time you go through such spiritual exercise of revolving the word in your mind, you will be amazed at the changes that are happening gradually in your life. There are times that I feel charged up after meditation and it is as though I should strike my head on the wall. You may also come to that point. But at such times, take it cool and don’t smash your head! The body of Christ needs that head. From experience, the next day may present you with a challenge to test whether you really believed what you read.
I desire you make a decision that henceforth, you will give yourself over to meditation on God’s word. It has a 100% success rate. It will inevitably lead to your spiritual growth. “I am now entrusting you to God and to his message that tells how kind he is. That message can help you grow and can give you the inheritance that is shared by all of God’s holy people” Acts 20:32 (GW)
– tope aladenusi
