Why Meditate?
Puritan pastor Thomas Manton believed, and taught, that reading Scripture, meditating on it, and prayer each have “their rightful place” in the believer’s life. Specifically, he said, “what we take in by the Word we digest by meditation and let it out by prayer.”
The goal of our time in grounded meditation is to encourage each of us to really unpack and “chew on” God’s Word. This is insight into my own head … my own meditation… may this be an urging to commit time in your own life to steep in the Word of God throughout this week.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened.
This verse is on my mirror as one to memorize. God has been refining my heart these last months, and I believe this verse from the Psalms to be a great reminder of one incredibly important aspect of our walk with Christ.
To hide sin, or to hide sinning, will only make your relationship with God harder
When we love God - as John 14:21 walks us through - sin should be repugnant to us. But, for all of us on this side of eternity, sin is a ever present temptation. Before we enter “the pearly gates” (so to say) we will be struggling against the flesh, and the sinful mind.
When we “cherish” iniquity… when we desire and hold onto sin… close at hand… God is far away. Now, that isn’t to say that God breaks His immutable characteristics and literally walks away from you (again, so to speak). No. When we cherish sin we only do so by pushing Him away. And we cannot have relationship with someone we are actively pushing away.
I believe that God has been revealing that to me, through His Word and community in the Body. “That” being the Truth that you and I will not have a flourishing relationship with God as Savior and Sustainer of all things… when we hold fast to sin instead of Him.
This may sound ridiculous to you. “I never hug my sin, and push God away!” Look at yourself… honestly… through the lens of the Sword of the Spirit. We, like children who disappointed a parent, think that if we hide (or hide the broken toy) we will be successful. But God, much more than even the most watchful parent, sees. And it grieves His heart when we hide our sin - or attempt to.
However, we must remember that God is quick to forgive. He is ever-present (and ever-desiring) to goad us to repentance and restoration. We are promised, in Christ, that we have immediate and consistent, access to the Father when we desire to unload our burdens. Not to say that is easy… to confess our sin is often anything but that. However, short term pain is infinitely less than eternal damnation.
LORD, if I have sinned against You … give me the courage and the strength to confess that sin… to release my grasp on my brokenness… and to embrace You in Your loving arms! Help me, God, in my unbelief. Restore me to the joy of Your salvation. Cleanse me. Make me despise my sin, as You do. Forgive me, oh God in Your mercy.
Amen.