Do you take the time to meditate? Meditating should play a major role in our Christian walk. In contrast to other religions, such as the New Age Movement, Hinduism and Buddhism, believers do not concentrate on themselves. The Lord, His law, His testimonies, statues, precepts, the splendour of His majesty and His mighty deeds are the subject of our meditation. Several Psalms bring that to light. Here are a few examples:

Psalm 1:1, 2 – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 63:5, 6 – ...my mouth praises thee with joyful lips, when I think of thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the watches of the night.

Psalm 119:48, 97, 99 – I revere thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statues ... Oh, how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day ... I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation.

In Psalm 77 meditation is a key concept. Asaph communes with his heart in the night; he meditates and searches his spirit.

Asaph is comforted in His present circumstances by contemplating God’s deeds for His people in the past. He says, “I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate on all thy works and muse on thy mighty deeds.”

Taking the time to meditate on God’s mighty deeds brings us closer to the Lord in our personal life and in our understanding of the Lord’s ways with His people. When the future looks bleak and dismal the deeds of the Lord reveal that He will open a way. His work will go on! His steadfast love never ceases and His promises will not come to an end.

One thing Asaph meditates on in this psalm is the footsteps of the Lord through history. “Thy way was through the sea, thy path through the great waters; yet thy footprints were unseen” (verse 20). Asaph sings about matters which happened a long time ago as if he was right there. He meditates on what happened when Israel passed through the Red Sea,

When the waters saw thee, O God, when the waters saw thee, they were afraid, yea, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; thy arrows flashed on every side. The crash of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; thy lightning’s lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

The forces of nature were brought into motion as the Lord appeared in power and majesty. Those were His footsteps.

The Lord performs a miracle at the Red Sea. He opens an unusual path for His people. He divides the waters and creates a dry path in the middle of the sea. “Thy way was through the sea, thy path through the great waters” (verse 19). The Lord makes a path where you would not expect it. All roads go no further than the sea unless a bridge or a causeway is built across it. But the Lord builds a path through the sea. He does what no human being can accomplish.

When we meditate on the Lord’s deeds we learn that the Lord always goes before His people. Meditating on the wondrous deeds of God has as consequence that we follow His footsteps. The apostle Peter writes in this regard,

For one is approved if, mindful of God he endures pain while suffering unjustly . . . For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.1 Peter 2:19, 21

With the Word of the Lord as a lamp unto our feet and a guide on our path we can follow the footprints of the Lord. Trusting in the Lord we do not walk ahead of Him or beside Him but we follow. And if the road gets rough, He picks us up with His mighty arms and carries us!

...You and I are not too busy to meditate on these ways of the Lord, are we?