OUTNUMBER THE GRAINS OF SAND
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”
Joshua 1:8 AMPC
I recently heard a pastor explain the word “meditate,” as actively chewing on the Word of God. He explained it in the terms of a cow’s digestive system. A cow has three stomachs and as it chews and swallows it regurgitates its cud and it flows to the second stomach, then repeats that process again for the third stomach. I know, sounds gross and I’m not very sound in my knowledge of a cow’s digestive system but that’s a very simple explanation. Now I bring this up because my pastor’s last sentence stuck with me. A cow’s digestive system is created in such a way that they get every drop of nutrient from the grass they are eating.
Now doesn’t that put an interesting twist on God’s command to Joshua, “Don’t let the Book of the Law depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…”
In essence God was telling Joshua to chew on His Word until Joshua got every last nutrient out of it. Another word picture of the Hebrew word for meditate is “Hagah” (הגה)—a word that paints an even more graphic picture. “Hagah” doesn’t mean silence or stillness. It means to murmur, to groan, or even to growl—like a lion over its prey.
Can you imagine Joshua growling over The Book of the Law? God wanted Joshua to devour His Word.
Lately I’ve been spending time is Psalm 139. I’ve been meandering through it. I’ve been chewing on it. I’ve even tried murmuring it out loud. It truly is a mind blowing read.
“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. You have laid your hand on me! This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength. Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too! If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, you’re there waiting! Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. There is no such thing as darkness with you. The night, to you, is as bright as the day; there’s no difference between the two. You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something. You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book. Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.”
Psalms 139:1-18 TPT
I like the Passion Translation of this chapter because the verbs paint a picture for me. I recently spent time at the beach. I watched my grandchildren build sandcastles. At night we would fill buckets with sand looking for those elusive teeny tiny white sand crabs. Do you know how hard it would be to count even a teaspoon of sand? Yet that verse says that God thinks of us every single moment. He cherishes us with His every thought. His desires for us are more than the grains of sand on EVERY shore. Get it, EVERY shore, not just the ones on Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, but EVERY shore along all the coastlines of all the world.
Chew on those thoughts awhile. Read Psalm 139 aloud. Can you murmur it without choking up? Are tears leaking out of your eyes when you truly realize how much God loves you?