Pondering and Meditating ?!?! by Matt Warren

I am on a journey through the Psalms right now . . . God is teaching me more and more about their power in the life of a Christian.  From Bonhoeffer, Spurgeon, Piper, and others I am discovering greater truths, greater strength, and greater intimacy with God.  In Psalm 77 we find an important revelation from Asaph, the writer of this Psalm.  He admits to great struggles in his life, and overwhelming sense discomfort.  In this moment he senses a great distance from God and wonders if the Lord will spurn him forever, even asking if His steadfast love has ceased (certainly these are rhetorical questions that we all ask when we experience aspects of disconnect, all the while knowing the answer - The Lord is always faithful.).

Then Asaph imparts an important tool, he teaches us to acquiesce to the will of God.  This is the meaning of verse 10.  We must accept our circumstances as those imparted by the will of God for us.  When this occurs we are more apt to acknowledge that the Lord is able to change this.  So we find not only solace or comfort from the power of our God, we discover Asaph acknowledging the God of wonders.

I am convinced most Christians arrive at this same location, but we don't often know what to do with the truth of this.  This is where Asaph so poignantly gives us a practical application.  He says that he ponder all of the Lord's work and he meditated on the Lord's mighty deeds.  The words here are interesting.  Ponder means to talk to one's self as if in the thinking process to not only consider but to speak the words out loud.  It was often used in relationship to the Word of God.  Meditate means to talk out loud regarding what was being considered.  But it is a different talking.  It is built around repentance focusing on the works of God, which declare his power and bring the soul into right position before him.

John Piper, teaching on this same Psalm said, ". . . the Word is our only hope to survive and come through our struggles with faith and hope."  So I am left with this "takeaway" - When life is overwhelming and when from my perspective things seem very bleak, I need to ponder the things of God - I must be in the Scriptures to find the reminders of His wonders and goodness.  Then I must reorient my thoughts and attitudes and consider a new perspective, His- and come to Him in worship that acknowledges His supremacy in all things.

Therefore, I need to be in His Word, pondering it, allowing it to divide me (Hebrews 4:12-15) and addressing life by spiritual songs, psalms and hymns (Ephesians 5:15-21), so that the meditations of my heart enable me to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Ephesians 6:10ff.)