What Are You Thinking?

As the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land, God told them that if they wanted to succeed spiritually, they needed to be constantly looking at His Word.

God said, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:8 NLT).

What does it mean to meditate? In the Bible it means to contemplate. The idea given in Scripture is that of chewing your food carefully. Eastern meditation is emptying your mind. But biblical meditation is filling your mind with the Word of God.

And as you memorize, know, and understand Scripture, it will be a weapon to use as you share your faith and also to defend yourself when you’re being attacked.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan came to Adam and Eve and basically challenged them to doubt the Word of God. He said, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1 NLT). In other words, “Did God really say what you think He said?”

This is one of the first things that happens to someone who becomes a Christian. They have doubts about what they believe. But Jesus showed us how to handle this during His temptation in the wilderness. In each instance, He began by saying, “It is written.” He came back to the Word of God, which the Bible refers to as the sword of the Spirit.

Psalm 1, describing the happy person, says, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (verses 2–3 NLT).

A growing Christian will delight in and love the Word of God.