Meditate Day and Night

Joshua 1:8 “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.”

Background: Joshua was born into slavery in Egypt (given the name “Hoshea,” Numbers 13:8); then he became well known as a soldier (many church children can tell you about his fight on Jericho); he was also known as Moses’ servant (Exodus 24:13); then we know him as one of the two spies with a good report of Canaan; but as the book of Joshua opens, we have Joshua as the successor to Moses, the one who will lead Israel into the Promised Land, as well as conquer and claim it. The secret of Joshua’s success was his faith in the Word of God – its commandments and promises!

This month’s passage contains three commands and two promises. The commands: 1) We are to keep Scripture on our lips, 2) We must meditate on it day and night, and 3) We must “observe” or do/obey what it says. The promises: 1) We will be prosperous, and 2) We will have good success.

When Joshua started out as successor leading the children of Israel, God did not give him battle plans or secret military strategies, rather, God told him that his greatest need was to live by meditating on God’s Word. It makes perfect sense when you think about our distrustful hearts and minds. If we are to let insights from God infiltrate our minds, then we will begin to see things as He does. The end result cannot be anything other than success.

The more you read, and the more you study, and the more you memorize, and the more you meditate on God’s love letter to you, the more you know and understand and love Him. His Words will become the way we think. We are to conform our thinking to His Word instead of trying to conform His Word to our thinking. Remember, there are no shortcuts to sanctification. It takes daily – often hourly (and sometimes moment-by-moment!) commitment!

Our Creator God gave us amazing minds capable of imagination, dreaming, fantasizing, seeing pictures in our heads, etc. Put His Word under the microscope of your mind. To meditate on something means to memorize it, visualize it, and personalize it. Meditation is a precursor to obeying the Bible. (King David seemed to use his imagination in Psalm 1:1-3 which alludes to Joshua 1:8. Look it up!)

There are thousands of books, articles, podcasts, and more specifically devoted to being successful in this life. Yet God outlined in His Word exactly how to be successful in this life and in the life to come. However, many of us still allow the busyness of each day to overtake us keeping us from the “one thing” that is “needful” – sitting at the feet of Jesus by reading His Word (Luke 10:42).

The promise of prosperity and success are not to be measured by the standards of the world. The Lord has something much greater in mind which results in eternal blessings. These blessings come to a life devoted to God and His Word. But we must remember that to receive these promises, we must obey the preceding commands.

Are you still treating God’s Word as milk instead of moving on to it being your meat (1 Corinthians 3:1-2; Hebrews 5:13)? You can learn from devotional books, but what you need to read, study, and meditate on THE Book. Joshua only had the first five books partake of, but we have all sixty-six books. We are often more willing to tithe and give of our finances than our time, but both produce great rewards.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wisdom and guidance found in Your Word. As we meditate on it day and night, may it take root in our hearts, transform our lives, and draw us closer to You. Grant us the grace to walk in obedience and live successful lives according to Your perfect will. Amen.

Cross references: Deuteronomy 17:8-9; Psalm 1:1-3