Long road trips were a wonderful part of my existence as a child. Every August, we would pack up the station wagon and head to Colorado for vacation. Our family took full advantage of lower humidity and a cooler environment, generating exciting times of exploration, outdoor activities, rest and relaxation. We had great joy as a family.

Heading through Texas to western states beyond, we saw lots of rural towns surrounded by farms and ranches. And cows. We saw lots of cows. Cows under shade trees chewing their cud.

Now, cows chew their cud so that they can better digest the plants, hay, and straw that they swallowed. Chewing the cud extracts nutrients for them. Chewing the cud is healthy for a cow. Farmers often monitor the cud-chewing activity of a herd in order to keep in touch with the health of the herd.

Chewing the cud is a good paraphrase of the Hebrew word for biblical meditation. Biblical meditation is healthy for the heart and mind of the follower of Jesus. Such meditation brings other passages of Scripture to mind, helps us understand the Word of God, and serves to embed God’s Word in our hearts and minds, changing our worldview and by extension, our behavior. We were reminded of that truth last Sunday.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2

If you have ever thought about a verse or a passage throughout the day or more than once, you have done biblical meditation. But biblical meditation may be a spiritual discipline that you have not practiced much.  

When done consistently, biblical meditation becomes the link between theory and practice. Meditation takes our knowledge about God’s Word and makes it personal so that we can apply it. Meditation on Scripture changes us inside so that our outside looks and sounds more like Jesus, reflecting His image.

I encourage you to start. Prayerfully go to the Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to embed this Truth in your heart and mind. Pray through each word. Repeat it to yourself. Let the Holy Spirit bring other Scripture passages to mind. The biblical trails that you go down while doing biblical meditation are sustaining, strengthening, and sanctifying. I offer a personal example of biblical meditation through a link in the PS.

Love and blessings,
Dave

Sample Biblical meditation:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” ~ John 11:25a 

A Sample Meditation: here is where the Holy Spirit led me as I prayed through this verse. For this meditation, I gave thought and prayer to each word by repeating the verse in my head. Each time that I repeated the verse, I emphasized the next word for meditation. Here are the results: 

I am the resurrection and the life 

I refers to You, Jesus. You met personally with Martha (and then Mary). Your promise to me is that 

you are with me always. You are personal, available, and active. Thank you for putting Your humanity on display as you expressed Your grief over the loss of Your friend and Your love for his sisters. Your power will be evident as You raise Him from the dead. I am comforted by Your compassion and Your power. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

I AM is the name of God. Using that title, Jesus, You remind me that You are not only human. You are God. You ARE. You are eternal, the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

This definite article (the) points out that You are the resurrection and the life par excellence. You are the perfect example of resurrection and life. You are the only person capable of resurrection and eternal life. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

Jesus, You are the resurrection, the One who rose from the dead. Your resurrection proved your death was a sacrifice acceptable to the Father. Your power over death means victory over sin and death for me and all your followers. By Your resurrection, I am born to a living hope. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

Jesus, You raised up the widow of Nain’s son, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus. Each one had died and were raised back to life by You. Each one would go on to die again. AND means there is more than just resurrection. Your resurrection is the first permanent return to life. My faith is not based simply on the fact that You rose from the dead, but that You rose from the dead, never to die again. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

Just like You are the only perfect example of resurrection, You are the only One who can offer eternal life. You offer Your life to all who believe in You. There is no other name under heaven by which people must be saved. 

I am the resurrection and the life 

Your life is a guarantee of my eternal life through faith in You. You said, “Because I live, you also will live.” Thank you for entering my life to lead me. The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. 

You might start with John 11:25. Notice that I only included the first half of the verse here. Maybe you could meditate on it as well and then add the second part of the verse. 

Whether you are fighting the Sunday Scaries or simply desire to grow in your faith, I encourage biblical meditation as a means to know God and let His truth impact your life.