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You may find that you want to meditate on the Word more often, but doing so just doesn't seem to come naturally. Keep trying and don't give up! Don't let worry and despair overwhelm you, when you don't have instant success. Remember that spiritual growth is a life-long process.
Until a person becomes a Christian, he is spiritually dead, with no heart-desire to let the Bible make him more "Christ-like." When he turns to Christ, that desire is born, and as he grows in Christ, that desire grows. You may find yourself weak and struggling in this matter, but if there is any real desire at all, there is hope. As you meditate on the Word (though your efforts may be weak), it will not only increase your comprehension and understanding of the Word, but God will be able to use it to change you! In time, your attitudes and desires (including your desire to meditate on God's Word) will change. This process will continue throughout life, until the day you stand in Christ's presence. (At that time, the whole process will be wonderfully finished!) If God has begun a wonderful work in your life, he will finish it.
It is not a matter of forcing oneself to meditate contrary to one's heart-felt desires (although forcing oneself to go contrary to one's fleshly desires is a normal part of living in Christ). On the contrary, as you grow in Christ, you will want to think (meditate) about the things of God, and how they relate to all of life. Thinking about God is the natural outflow of a changed heart.
In contrast, a person who is not a Christian may realize that he ought to focus on God's Word, because of the conscience that God gave him (Romans 2:13-15), which reminds him of his obligations. Yet he will tend to not do the things he knows he should. If he persists in not doing what he knows is right, he will become hardened in heart, until his conscience no longer convicts him. (He may even convince himself that he is a "Christian," unaware that his life proves differently.)
[Do you have a changed heart? How has it demonstrated its presence? (It will, if it exists.)]
Meditation (on God and his works) does not exclude other things - the rest of life. Rather, it overlaps or encloses them.
Even the "mundane mindless tasks" of life (which people normally describe as "boring" and "a waste of time and life") provide an excellent opportunity for thinking about God! If the task permits it (without risking safety or quality), you can use your mind to worship, pray, and focus on other things, while you are performing your daily obligations and duties. God may be able to teach you some very beneficial things... even using your job as a "teaching tool"!
A shepherd boy, named David, sat day after day watching farm animals walk around, eat, sleep, and occasionally get into trouble. How boring! Yet what did he do with his mind? Read Psalm 23.
For some activities, it will not be possible to have God and his Word as the primary focus of one's thinking. But it can still remain a thought in the background. For instance, if you had a job that required intense concentration, your job would be the primary focus of your thoughts. But God would still be in the background, for you would be wanting to do your job in a manner that pleased your Savior and Lord! One aspect of meditation involves thinking about how to accomplish this.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)
Dennis Hinks © 1996, 2004
Scripture
quotations taken from the NASB; italics added for emphasis.
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