It’s so easy to let our minds wander. How many hours have been spent concerned for our children: how they will do in school, their friends, their activities, their conflicts, their disappointments, their future. These times can be called many things: worry, concern, planning, daydreaming, etc. But in short what they all represent is time that could have been spent meditating on God's Word and the things of God and the opportunities that are available to us for God that were redirected onto lesser things. This does not mean we should "be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good", but by continuously meditating on the Word of God we will be glorifying Him and living victorious lives in every facet of our lives.

Silent contemplation with an emptying of our minds as practiced in many eastern religions is NOT what meditation is. Meditation means to "chew the cud" as a farm animal would. We take God's Word and continually chew it throughout the day: at home, while driving, at work, so that we extract every ounce of nutrition from it. We read in Joshua 1:8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." In fact, just prior to this in Joshua 1:2-4, we read, "...Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them-the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river,...". God had already claimed the victory for them, all they had to do was meditate on His Word and take possession of that which God already provided. If one takes the measurements of what God gave them it covered 30,000 square miles of Promised Land. Yet at the height of the nation of Israel under the reign of King Solomon the most that they took possession of was 3000 square miles, a mere tenth of what was given them.

Before we mistakenly look too critically at the Israelites, can't the same be said of our own lives? In Romans 8:37, Paul wrote, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." This means the battle is already over, God has won, all we have to do is claim the victory. Satan has already been defeated once and for all on the cross. We, who have accepted Jesus' payment, have already received the seal, being empowered by the Holy Spirit. Yet, like the Israelites, we often fail to take possession of all that God has already given us. We choose to not follow the instructions given in Joshua 1:8. Many might state this is unrealistic, followed by reciting the list of responsibilities that occupy their day. To this I would argue, do we really think our situation is more difficult than Joshua, who was responsible for leading 3 million people into enemy territory? Yet this is exactly who God gave these instructions to. Paul gave similar instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13,15, "Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine...Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Paul gave similar instructions in Colossians 3:16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Victory is ours, may we all start every morning with Him, meditate upon Him throughout the day, and claim the territory God has already won for us.