Last week I wrote about the importance of knowing truth; as I worked on that post, an idea for a follow-up post was simmering in the back of my mind, and this is the result. Obviously there are more applications of this concept than what I’ve chosen to write about here, but these have been on my mind for a while, and I’ve seen the power of their application in multiple ways recently.
I don’t think I had ever connected the two ideas of “truth” and “meditation” in a solid way until a couple of months ago during Bible study. Of course I knew that one of the Christian disciplines is meditating on the truth, but I don’t think I had really thought about all of the connotations of that discipline. I knew that memorizing Bible verses and passages was a good idea, but it’s not something I had ever done with a lot of enthusiasm, partially because I’m not good at memorizing, and partially because I just didn’t take the time to do it.
The lady leading the Bible study had interesting thoughts on the concept of meditating on truth, though. She explained that the Hebrew word translated “meditate” implies so much more than what we initially think of when we hear about meditating. Yes it does include memorization, finding practical application, etc. But a literal translation of the Hebrew verb “to meditate” would be “to murmur.” It implies a murmuring of the truth under your breath – a constant repetition. She said that in Old Testament times, it was not uncommon to see someone walking around murmuring under their breath; they were repeating God’s promises and commands to themselves. It was an act of constantly putting God’s truth at the forefront of their lives.
This discovery was exciting for me. I love learning about the meanings of words, and this new meaning took on many different applications for me. On a personal level, I realized once again in a very real way the power of the spoken word. Solomon had it right when he said that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Speaking the truth releases it from the confines of your mind and forces you to come to grips with it. Speaking the truth forces you to really believe it and do something with it; speaking it is an acknowledgement in a very real way. I think it also has power because we have an enemy that is always around us, but, as the father of lies, has no grounds to stand on in the presence of the truth. Speaking the truth confines the enemy and exposes just how many lies we’ve believed.
I’ve also seen the power of this in my relationships with other people. I can know something is true in my head, but hearing someone else say the same thing serves as a confirmation of that truth. I think that speaking the truth to another person is a way of building them up, and helping fortify them against the lies and subtle half-truths that so easily creep into our ways of thinking. As people at war, I think this is one of our greatest callings, and one of the greatest acts of love towards those around us. In a world seeped in lies about every aspect of our lives, speaking the truth can be what sets a person free to live their calling.
Truth is a powerful thing. It’s not enough just to know it intellectually, or to play with it in our minds, or to think about it every now and then as a nice philosophical proposition. Speaking it releases its power and allows it to provide freedom not only to ourselves in our constant murmurings of God’s promises, but to those around us as we affirm and build each other up.
What are you doing with what you know is true?
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