The Key to Spiritual Success

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8)

The key to spiritual success is meditating on God's Word day and night and doing/obeying His Word. After Moses died, Joshua was to lead Israel into the "promised land" filled with enemies and pagan idolatry. How did God want Joshua to prepare for the victory and possession of the land? God did not tell him to train soldiers or acquire weapons or make strategic battle plans. God commanded him to meditate on God's law (the Torah) and to do everything written in it. God wanted Joshua to focus on the Word of God daily/continually and He will provide what Joshua needs to be prosperous and successful. Joshua's strength and courage (God commanded him to be strong and courageous three times in the first chapter of Joshua) was to come from knowing that God was with him, from meditating on the Pentateuch (the first five books of Scripture), from believing God's promises, and from living in obedience to God's precepts. Joshua's success in defeating the enemy in Canaan was based on his devotion to God's Word. We also can have victory over any temptation and enemy when we know/rely on the power of God and trust the promises of God by meditating on the Word of God. Like Joshua, we are to saturate ourselves with God's Word, by meditating on it, talking/sharing about it, and living it out. What we fill our mind with will influence our words, thoughts, and actions. Therefore, it's best/wisest to fill our mind with God's Word.

Meditation requires our personal investment of time, (mental) energy, and effort. It takes time to actively engage our mind when we read the Bible, consciously making the effort to understand the living Word in depth so that we will grow in our intimacy with the Living Lord and grow in Christlikeness. To meditate on God's Word is to ponder, reflect, contemplate, and focus our thoughts on the verses we read repeatedly, mulling over them carefully and thoroughly, in order to discern their meaning, significance, and application. We are to go over and over and over God's Word in order that God's Word will deepen its impression on our hearts, permeate all our thinking processes, and guide all our conducts. There can be no spiritual success and progress without daily meditation on God's Word. There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth. The Bible is our daily bread that we need for our spiritual sustenance and nourishment. Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like eating food without chewing...without digesting. It won't help us grow spiritually. We will be weak and unable to fight spiritual battles. To meditate means to deliberately muse over God's Word, to examine it, to compare Scripture with Scripture, and to "digest" its life-giving truths. Biblical truths should percolate through our mind day and night. It is only through God's Word that we can understand what God's will is and resist the pull of our own flesh, the Enemy, and the world. Seeing our circumstances, trials, tasks, identity as our Heavenly Father sees them changes our attitudes and actions. Think right thoughts. Think God's thoughts.

"We must read Scripture every day 
And meditate on what God said
To fight temptation from the world
And live a life that's Spirit led."
(Sper)

Meditation must be accompanied by obedience. Be doers of the Word, not just hearers (or meditators). Spiritual victory and blessings belong to those who obey God's Word. Do not misinterpret the last part of this verse ("Then you will be prosperous and successful"). For children of God, success and prosperity are not to be measured by physical, material standards of this world. Please do not fall into the false teaching of "the prosperity gospel". It's possible to prosper and succeed in the eyes of the world yet fail in the eyes of God. Meditating on God's Word transform our mind and motives and direct our decision-making to be according to God's Word and will. True success is being committed to the Word of God, being empowered by the Spirit of God, and doing the will of God, for the glory of God.

"There is absolutely no victory or chance for us to experience the blessings of our new life in Christ apart from the Word of God. Whenever any believer begins to turn away from the Word through indifference or apathy for whatever reason, he is turning away from the Lord and into defeat." (Keathley) 

"The believer’s mind should become like a 'spiritual computer.' It should be so saturated with Scripture that when he faces a decision or a temptation, he automatically remembers the Scriptures that relate to that particular situation. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word to our minds when we need it. (Jn 14:26) But the Spirit of God cannot remind you of something that you have not learned! You must first let him teach you the Word. You must memorize the Scripture that he opens up to you. Then the Spirit of God will be able to remind you of what you have learned, and you can use that truth to battle Satan. Please keep in mind that Satan knows the Bible far better than we do! And he is able to quote it!" (Warren Wiersbe)

"Read it much, read it often, brood over it, think over it, meditate over it--meditate on the Word of God day and night. When you are awake at night, think of a helpful verse. When you get up in the morning, no matter how you feel, think of a verse and make the Word of God the important element in your day. The Holy Ghost wrote the Word, and if you make much of the Word, He will make much of you. It is through the Word that He reveals Himself. Between those covers is a living Book. God wrote it and it is still vital and effective and alive. God is in this Book, the Holy Ghost is in this Book, and if you want to find Him, go into this Book." (A.W. Tozer)

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for giving me Your Word that sustains my soul and strengthens my faith! May I continually delight in studying, memorizing, and obeying Your Word! Please empower me to faithfully live consistent with Your Word and Your will each and every day. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.