What we are and what the Word is to us is largely controlled by our own thinking. To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. Titus 1:15.
Those who are the most influenced by their circumstances and surroundings are usually the most discouraged and morbid people. Those who constantly look to the Lord, and find that their meditation is upon Him and their thoughts are directed to the words that God has spoken to their hearts, are the most encouraging you would want to meet. Why is this so?
Because the things which are invisible are the things which are eternal. The things which we see with our eyes are part of the passing scene, as I John 2:17 says, And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
I have observed that right meditation leads to many miraculous things in our lives. In the first Psalm, the person who is so blessed of the Lord is the person who meditates upon the law of the Lord. Their concern is constantly to think upon the things that God has said; to review them in their mind, that they might be a faithful follower of the teachings of the Lord. It says, … his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night… And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. This means that there is a measure of stability, a permanence, a fruitfulness, a prosperity that comes to the person who learns to meditate upon the glorious, profound principles of God’s Word.
This great truth is repeated again in the book of Joshua. As young Joshua, the general, was facing the difficulty of leading the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, he felt quite insufficient to the great task. But he was given the instructions in Joshua 1:8, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon 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. Prosperity and success, then, were dependent upon the measure of meditation they would exert as they would follow the Word of the Lord and do His will.
Many of us feel in these days that our situation, the outlook of the world, is a very ominous, dark thing. Jesus did not teach us to think in that direction; He did not teach that we should constantly think upon the dark side of things. But said, even concerning the wars and destruction of the end time, But when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; because redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28. There is to be an uplook that is greater than the outlook. This must be true, always, of a believer. His meditation must be fixed upon the Lord. As Paul said to the people who were being persecuted so severely in the days when the epistle to the Hebrews was written, For consider him that endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls. Hebrews 12:3. The very endurance, the patience that we want is going to be reproduced by the fact that we constantly look to Jesus, we consider Him! Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2.
There is a kind of emotional or nervous fatigue that seems to be gripping people these days. There is a weariness, a fainting; weary in well doing, to use the scriptural phrase.
But the way to be encouraged, the way to lift up your head and go on with fortitude and the outlook which is encouraging is to constantly direct your meditation in the right channel. Remember, as you think in your heart, so are you. The Word will be to you what you allow it to be. If you allow it to be an ominous thing, constantly speaking of destruction and failure, that’s exactly what it will mean to you; but if you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and you know He can bring you through, the most adverse circumstances will not throw you.
Philippians 4:6–7: Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Here is a directed, channeled mind which is looking to the Lord. If you want to have a real blessing, read the entire fourth chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, and note there the things which they were to think upon; the things that were lovely … of good report … and virtue … and praise, think on these things. This was to be the outgrowth of a mind that was kept in perfect peace; the mind that was stayed upon the Lord.
There is a verse about this in Isaiah 26 that says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3. A rather literal Hebrew rendering of this verse is—Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace. They emphasized perfect peace by repeating the word twice. Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, whose imagination is stayed upon thee; because he trusteth in thee. Do we understand how completely God will keep a person, and with what peace He will sustain them, when the imagination and the heart is stayed upon the Lord God? The reason why people are having so many troubles today is because God is not real to them—the Saviour, Jesus Christ, is not real to them.
Many people have religion, but they are carrying it upon their shoulders as a heavy burden. It is not the source of release and comfort and blessing it should be. I do not subscribe to the modern thinking that seems to have risen in the last few years that is, “Well, we had better serve God; every good thing comes from God; so, we control our minds and by a little bit of positive thinking, every good thing will come our way.”
Don’t ever get the idea that a Christian has God on tap to use Him. To be a Christian means that you surrender to Christ for Him to use you. Don’t ever get the heathenish idea in your mind that the power of God is available to you so that you can run down the road and use it for your own personal position and advancement. No, God gives His grace, His blessing, the gifts, the ministries that come by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you can do His will; you can do what He wants you to do.
There is a great deal of care and worry that you can omit; you can leave them off and in bearing your cross, make a distinction between what is really the cross of Jesus Christ, the legitimate cross which is yours to bear and the will of God for your life; and that which is a load, an oppressive thing, which is concocted and devised by your own thinking.
It is the creation of a cloud of fear that hangs over you because you do not turn to the Lord and fix your mind and your heart upon him.
David was a man who went through many troubles, but have you read in Psalms, that phrase which occurs many times? My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. Psalm 57:7.
When a person turns to the Lord and they fix their mind and their heart upon the Lord, it is inevitable that great peace, great blessing will attend them and that is important. It is also important for us to remember that it says in II Timothy 1:7. For God gave as not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline, or as in the King James translation, a sound mind. It means a “disciplined mind,” “wise discretion.” So if you are fearful in heart, remember that God did not give you that spirit of fear; because God gives us the spirit of power, and of love, and of discipline to our thinking, so that we can meditate upon Him and understand His will, His purpose and His goodness which is beamed toward us.
Paul admonished the Ephesians, Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17. People lived their lives fearfully, when nine-tenths of the bridges that they worry about crossing, they will never reach; they will never materialize at all. Why not leave the future in the hands of the Lord?
God is so capable of ordering our steps, of going before us and springing all the traps that the enemy could set in our way.
It is good to meditate upon the things of the Lord; open your heart to Him and pray that the Holy Spirit will make Christ real to you and make His promises real to you; so that as the days go by, you will not be a victim of the tides of life; you will not be a person hiding in your bomb shelter, but you will be one who lives with vigor, with anticipation, knowing that your life is in the hands of the Lord.
God has many good things for us. I would like to encourage you, who are hungry for more of God, who are concerned about the will of God in your life, to do something about it.
Everyone talks about their spiritual need, at times, and the way the nation is drifting spiritually, but few are doing anything about it.