Treasure God's Word

Today’s meditation is based on Joshua 1:6-7, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” (ESV)

Joshua was chosen to be the leader over the people of Israel, and the above were the words of God to Joshua. The first encouragement Joshua received from God was that he should be strong and courageous. God told Joshua that he would have success in all that he did, and for that to happen he had to be careful to obey all the law that Moses had commanded them to keep. When God gave Joshua the responsibility to lead the Israelites, the one thing that He gave to Joshua was His word. We see that God through His word bestowed authority on Joshua, gave him courage, and also assured him of success, if he would be faithful to obey God’s word.

Often we have so many expectations from God. We want God to take care of our needs, to change all our difficult situations, give us good health, and bless our children. The word of God is above all of this, but sadly, we forget to take God’s word seriously, and treat it with contempt. God created Adam, and gave him the authority to rule over all of God’s creation, and this was given to Adam by the word of God. However, we have not understood the power of God’s word, and have not given the word the due importance in our lives, and hence we face failure in many areas of our lives. God’s word does not change, and if we will pay attention to His word, living in obedience to His word, we will be victorious in all we do. Over time many of us have neglected the word of God, and have not given the reverence we are supposed to give. Nonetheless, if we repent, and turn back to God’s word we will experience success in all that we do.

The blessing for one who delights in God’s word

David says in Psalm 1:2-3, “but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (ESV)

The word of God calls a man blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on it day and night. He will also be like a tree that is planted by streams of water which will receive all of the nutrients that it needs for it to grow and flourish. Moreover, it not only receives, it also produces fruit, and thereby fulfills the purpose for its existence. For such a person who makes God’s word his greatest joy, everything he does will surely prosper.

There are many who are not aware of God’s purpose for their lives, and are living any way they want to. Remember that every one of us was created for a specific purpose, and if we want to know that purpose and fulfill it, we can discover it only from the word of God. Isn’t is a blessed and sweet thought to know that all that we do will prosper, but for that to happen, we have to delight in the word of God, and live by it. I have heard many say that they cannot understand the bible when they read it. My counsel to such is please continue to read the word of God even if you don’t understand, and you will surely over a period of time see tremendous changes in your lives. Many have stopped reading the word only because they cannot understand what they are reading.

Let me give you a wonderful example from the bible.

The Ethiopian who treasured God’s word

We read in Acts 8:27-28, “And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.(ESV)

Here was a man who was the treasurer in a palace, in-charge of all the treasures of Candace, Queen of Ethiopians. He was a man in a highly responsible position with a hectic schedule. In spite of this he found time to visit the temple at Jerusalem, and on his way back he was reading the scroll of Prophet Isaiah. In those days the bible was not freely available as it is today, and in order to possess a portion of scripture, the Ethiopian must have taken extra effort to get hold of the same. This clearly indicates that the Ethiopian valued the scriptures greatly. Though the Ethiopian was the overseer of all the treasures in the palace, he perceived that the scripture that was in his hand was of far greater value. Though he was travelling in a chariot, he was reading the scripture that was in his hand.