Chew on the Word
Meditate!
I am writing to you with that encouragement. Meditate. I don’t mean sit cross-cross-apple-sauce with your hands above your head, humming in order to empty your mind. What I have in mind is biblical meditation: filling your mind with God’s Word and chewing on it over time.
I am finding that biblical meditation might be the most fruitful means of grace for my personal walk with the Lord. That is not to diminish other spiritual disciplines, all of which are necessary. And it is not to diminish reading through the entire Bible and utilizing Bible reading plans; Christians should read the entire Bible and that yields a harvest in our hearts as well. Yet, for me, biblical meditation helps me chew on the text all day long, drawing out all the nutrients I can. And it is like juicy steak that never loses flavor! If it is communion with God that we are after, meditation is an indispensable tool in the toolbelt the Lord has given to us.
My current practice is to select a book of the Bible, meditate on one verse or phrase each day and commit it to memory. Throughout the day, I consider the meaning of each word, pray in light of that phrase or verse, and attempt to share it with someone else (most often my wife or children). In the spirit of encouraging more biblical meditation, here is a biblical vitamin I’ve been chewing on:
I have begun meditating on the book of 1 Peter. Recently, I was considering the phrase in verse 6, “if necessary.” In chapter 1, Peter reminds these Christians that, as born-again believers, God has an imperishable, undefined, unfading inheritance kept in heaven for them! In other words, they live now with the hope of heaven then. But Peter is writing in the context of their suffering under Roman rule.
So, in verse 6, Peter says, “In this (in your heavenly inheritance) you rejoice, though for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…”
It has struck me… if necessary… in other words, their temporary grief through trials is necessary.
What is your first question when you suffer? Probably, “why?” “Why, God, have you allowed this?”
God’s response: “it is necessary.” Why on earth is our suffering necessary!?
Peter answers in the verses that follow: “…that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ….”
Suffering tests our faith. And genuine faith comes out shining… and that precious shine of our faith results in praise and glory and honor… when? “At the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That is, when heaven meets earth and Christ makes all things new.
Okay, let’s bring this meditation to a close. Why on earth is it necessary for Christians to suffer? We suffer on earth so that glory in heaven shines brighter.
Brothers and sisters, do not settle for a fading, diminished, defiled glory on earth. Wait. Your suffering is necessary… but it is preparing you for an eternal weight of glory. Chew on that.
Pastor Mark