Meditation

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
– Psalm 19:14

Ask a man what he is thinking about. If he says, “nothing,” don’t be surprised. Men actually have that capacity. Women sometimes have difficulty understanding how that could be true. I have been met with the response, “You must be thinking about something! Actually, no. Chalk it up to the differences between men and women. I can assure you, if a man says he is thinking about nothing, he just may be telling you the truth!

With that said, most of the time my mind is on something. It may be a passing thought, or it may be something lingering. It is those lingering thoughts that especially need to be examined. From day to day my mind will be drawn in various directions, some of which may not be healthy for my spirit. I may find myself focused on themes, ideas or fascinations that are not submitted to God’s righteousness. I may allow unkind thoughts to fester, things that do not reflect the mind of Christ. When these things are my reality, I have allowed my meditations to be out of line with God.

The connection between the mouth and the heart is undebatable. Jesus himself said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45). If the words of my mouth have any chance of being acceptable in the sight of God, I must see that the meditation of my heart is pleasing to Him. It will be my choice. What thoughts will I allow to occupy my mind? The apostle Paul says to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). By God’s grace, may I choose to meditate on those things that are honorable to God.