by Pastor Douglas Brauner

A Long Walk on the Beach: Meditating on God’s Word

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.”
Psalm 119:27 New Living Translation

Nothing beats taking a long walk on the beach, especially at sunset. It’s not that time stops, but it feels that way. It is easy to get lost in thought as the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves drown out everything else. If a person isn’t careful, they might wander far from their car or place of residence and worry about making it back before it’s dark.

Meditating on God’s Word can be like going for a long walk on the beach. The psalmist, maybe a priest, begs Yahweh to help him understand the meaning of his commands, of his Word. Sometimes meditating on what God says gives rise to more questions than answers. There are times that we wrestle with his Word, and don’t like what he says. Yet, it is God’s Word, and we approach it as such believing that God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

The priest will not stop meditating on God’s commands because he struggles to understand them, instead he continues to think about the wonderful deeds God has done. Reflection is the key to meditating on God’s wonderful deeds. We reflect on God’s story of mercy which he reveals to us in Jesus. We reflect on how that mercy affects our lives as we move forward through the sands of time.

The psalmist will continue his journey with Yahweh’s commands and not give up. We continue our journey in God’s Word and refuse to give up. Before we know it, we’ll be far down the beach, lost in time with the One who loves us and walks with us on this journey.

“I will study your commandments
and reflect on your ways.
I will delight in your decrees
and not forget your word.”
Psalm 119:15-16 NLT

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado