How do you seek to delight in God's words in all circumstances?

[Minh]

Edmond Smith once wrote that, "Meditation will lead to a calmness of disposition, a serenity of mind and a certainty about the ways of God." No one would disagree that meditation involve reading the Word of God. Psalm 1:1 - 2 said, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

So I am striving to make that a daily reality in delighting in God's words.

But my devotion is full of inconsistencies. In a calm and relaxed mind I would definitely enjoy reading Scripture. But if I encounter a tempestuous situation, or have a worldly mind, then I find difficulty in delighting Scripture, which is dull to me when I try to absorb it. My mind is having troubles with cares, be it legitimate or sinful.

What are your experiences and advices?

 

[hLuke]

I find that paying close attention to each word of scripture and reading passages slowly helps me concentrate and clear my mind of worldly troubles. The mind is set on the Cross, and the glory of Christ, and a conscious effort is made to clear worldly thoughts.
Memorising scripture and reciting it prayerfully is another helpful technique. This involves reciting the verse of passage and repeating. Each time try to find a new link with other passages in scripture. Pray over every new part of the text the Spirit reveals to you. I use the 'remember me' bible app which allows me to memorise large portions of scripture quickly. It helped me memorise Rom 8 in just a few weeks. Thanks be to God!
Another technique is to find a time when you can meditate on a specific attribute of God or specific theology concepts. For example putting aside 30min to meditate on the wrath of God, thinking about all the instances where his wrath is displayed in scripture. I actually found the last technique from a post I discovered a few weeks ago. Applying it has increased Christ's presence in my life and has established a greater appreciation for his word. 2 Cor 4:6

Here's the PDF.

BeekeMeditation.pdf

drive.google.com

I couldn't find the source of the original link to the PDF. I do apologise to the one whom shared this document and am thankful to God for Beeke and the person who first shared this here on PuritanBoard.

 

[py3ak]

There's always struggle, and it even gets incorporated in God's word -- Psalms 13, 42, 43, 77, and 88 come to mind. It's not a surprise that meditation is difficult, and that the fruit of it comes in slowly rather than reaping an immediate harvest. As for suggestions:

1. Use sound -- read Scripture aloud or listen to it and sing Psalms.
2. Connect your state of mind with some part of Scripture. In other words, if you're distracted thinking about John, what does your mind go to? If that topic doesn't connect to John is there another passage of Scripture that comes to mind?
3. Persevere -- some days may be better than others, but consistency is still the best strategy.
4. Don't try to force emotion, that will make you dread and resent your devotions. Faithfulness wins out over feeling.

 

[TylerRay]

Edmond Smith once wrote that, "Meditation will lead to a calmness of disposition, a serenity of mind and a certainty about the ways of God." No one would disagree that meditation involve reading the Word of God. Psalm 1:1 - 2 said, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

So I am striving to make that a daily reality in delighting in God's words.

But my devotion is full of inconsistencies. In a calm and relaxed mind I would definitely enjoy reading Scripture. But if I encounter a tempestuous situation, or have a worldly mind, then I find difficulty in delighting Scripture, which is dull to me when I try to absorb it. My mind is having troubles with cares, be it legitimate or sinful.

What are your experiences and advices?

One relevant thought:
We won't meditate on and delight in God's word throughout the day if we don't have a true sense of our desperate need for it.

"Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).

"My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word" (Psalm 119:25).

"I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word" (Psalm 119:107).

"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me" (Psalm 119:50).

"Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction" (Psalm 119:92).

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

Why do you think on food when you're hungry? Why do you think about drink when you're thirsty? You have a sense of your need. Not meditating on and delighting in God's word is often a sign of self-sufficient presumption on the one hand, or sinful, unbelieving despair on the other hand.

 

[ConradM]

I'm new here, this is my first post.

Glad I found this forum. I lost a business this past year after 8 years of running it, full time and part time. It was a very painful, stressful and frustrating time for me. I found that what gave me the most peace when reading the Bible was to focus on passages that dealt with Gods sovereignty, I LIVED in Job for awhile. Many days that was all I could read, seeing his loss, his reaction, Gods answers to him and knowing that God was in control of ALL of it, even if he (or I) wasn't enjoying all of it. That was what got me through and still does.

Blessings Brother!

 

[Herald]

In my experience I have found that when my life is abounding with distractions that it is difficult to meditate upon the Word and to pray. It is during those times that I try not force a square peg into a round hole. The elephant in the room is the cause of the distraction and addressing that cause is a must. Sometimes distractions cannot be removed, but a proper reaction to them may allow us to once again focus on the things of God.