I love spring. Everything starts to get green, and the yellows, reds, and whites of the flowers and trees begin to give off their radiant beauty. The drab brown of winter is replaced by the spectacular colors of spring. I have some beautiful tulips that have added some beauty to one of my flower beds that I don’t remember coming up in previous years. I love the surprises of bulbs.
From my kitchen, I can see the flower bed that is the most work of all my flower beds, but it also has the most beauty. It always needs to be weeded or flowers dead headed. I spent an afternoon weeding it and sprucing it up. It still needs a bit more work, but it looks so much better now. Getting rid of the weeds and the dead leaves from last year brings out the beauty and the fresh colors of spring. As I write this, I am looking out my window and enjoying the beauty of this flower bed and am thankful I put the work into cleaning it up. My back was sore after I finished, but the pain is worth the enjoyment.
Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
The meditations of my heart are like my flower bed. As I meditate on the sweet things of Scripture there is beauty that comes from my mouth and my life. When I meditate on the things that are opposite of what Philippians 4:8 says we are to think on, the weeds and dead leaves are what comes from my mouth and life.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8).
Have you found yourself thinking and meditating on things that are opposite of this list in Phil 4:8? Thinking about lies, dishonorable, impure/dirty, shameful, humiliating, and decrepit things. These are the weeds and the dead leaves that clutter our hearts and our minds.
Most of us don’t consider that our thoughts contribute to our health, our viewpoint on things, the words that come from our mouths, our sleep, and the actions that we perform.
The meditations in our hearts impact our lives.
So we must be intentional about the meditations of our hearts. Many times we are not aware of the things we think. They are fleeting thoughts that come and go without us even realizing it. Yet, when we begin to be intentional with our thoughts, the beauty of intentional meditation and prayer changes our lives.
The beauty of the tulips did not happen overnight. The bulbs were planted years ago with forethought. Now that all the dead leaves and weeds are gone they are better able to give off their vibrant beauty. It is with intention that the bulbs were planted and it was with intention that I cleared the bed of all the ugly debris.
So we must be intentional that the meditations of our hearts are “acceptable in your sight, O Lord.” (Psa. 19:14). He wants to help us with this as well so the Psalmist draws our attention to this fact by using two more names for our Lord. “Our Rock and our Redeemer.”
Jesus saved us and rescued us from our sin. He wants to continue to rescue us from the sin that so quickly comes to our thoughts. The sins we so quickly seek to meditate on.
Be intentional on what you meditate on. There is no better thing to “chew on” and dwell on that God’s Word. Pray it back to Him. Have a conversation throughout your day with God about His word. Don’t let you morning devotion time be lost memory throughout your day, rather let it be a lasting and impactful memory throughout your day.
Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
