This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 NLT
I have always mentally known the importance of meditation. However, the Lord seemed to emphasize that more to me this year. While I have been learning the practice of meditation, I had a powerful experience that has crystallized this in my mind and spirit.
I was off work on Monday and usually, I would stay home and get some good rest. I don’t like leaving home any day I’m off from work. Well on this Monday, I had two tasks to complete outside my home, which meant I had to go out. On the Sunday prior, I took some time to plan my Monday morning. I thought through what routes I’d take when driving so I could get these tasks done in 30 minutes and be back home. I decided after thinking though that it would be most efficient for me to drop off the cheque (task 1) and go take a box of turkey (task 2). I meditated on this plan and decided on it.
Monday morning came, I got into my car and on the spur of the moment decided to change my plans. I decided I’d reverse the order, task 2 first before task 1. This meant changing my driving route which I did without hesitation. I got in the car with my plans and off I went. What happened next was shocking to me. Did you know I drove past the location for the turkey, where I was to complete task 2, I did not even realize when I did that. I unconsciously drove past it and headed to the location where I was to drop off the cheque (task 1). After I had driven past it was when I realized what had happened.
It then dawned on me that regardless of my impromptu decision, my actions were controlled by my subconscious mind and because I had programmed my subconscious mind through meditation & imagination to complete task 1 before task 2, that was exactly what I did. My decision at the moment could not override the subconscious programming of my mind. My impromptu decision could not change the outcome that had been programmed into my subconscious mind. I have studied about the power of decisions, but on this day I learned that a decision that does not first change the way you think, the way you see, or the image on the inside, cannot change your life. For as a man thinketh so is he. Decisions are powerful when channeled to first change the programming on the inside. My day went consistent with my thought life – my meditation, not my impromptu decision.
I have known the power of meditation but not in this light. I kept asking myself what have I been trying to accomplish in my life that was being canceled out by the wrong programming of my mind. I thought about my journey, the exertion of effort on the outside, both spiritual and natural that produced no result. Now I understood why.
It is interesting to know that you can decide to succeed in life, you can get up and begin to take all the right actions, but if your mind is programmed for failure and you do not spend time to change that subconscious programming, your actions would not yield much. The truth is you will not succeed. The sad thing about this is that even though the actions are spiritual if you do not understand how to engage in these spiritual activities in a way that impacts and transforms your subconscious mind, the outcomes will still not change.
Meditation is powerful, it is one of the tools God has given us to help transform our minds, no wonder the bible links this directly to success. It says when you meditate, you observe to do; meaning you reprogram your mind, align it to the word, and then act. Actions taken from the place of alignment will produce good success. I share all this to encourage someone to quit trying to change things by just actions. It’s so easy to be caught up in external activities hoping that it would somehow change the outcome of our lives without us changing who we are internally. It won’t happen that way, it’s time to focus on changing what matters – the mind. Meditate today and make your way prosperous.
