Week 1 // How Do We Grow Strong?

Collin Tudge, in his book, The Tree, concludes, “Trees grow big when the conditions are favorable, and stay small when they are not.” Spiritually speaking, this is the essence of what living the abundant life is all about. In the realm of meditation, if we do not reject the will and ways of the wicked, we may know God, but we will always just be like a weak, little tree. Similarly, even Proverbs 24:10 states, “If you falter in times of trouble, how weak is your strength.”

So, how do we grow strong?  We learned this week that in order to grow into the abundant life, we must begin by rejecting wicked counsel and living in the realm of Godly meditation. William Law wrote, “Frequency in heavenly contemplation is particularly important, to prevent a shyness from God…As digestion turns food into chyle and blood for vigorous health, so meditation turns truths received and remembered into warm affection, firm resolution, and holy conversation.”

David prayed, “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11). In essence, he knew that the blessed man’s heart was not divided, but would reject wicked counsel and delight in the Word of God.

In the Bible, the realm of meditation is not just what we think about, it is actually the arena which shapes our character, choices, and actions. In this realm, we reject wicked counsel but immerse ourselves in God’s sources of life.

Questions for Meditation

1. What are some ways that we, as Christians, can reject wicked counsel? What happens when we don’t?
2. What does the practice of Godly meditation look like in your personal life? How can your meditation on the Word of God increase this week?
3. Psalm 1 shows that we can live either for eternal fruitfulness, or for temporal satisfaction, which like chaff, will soon be blown away. How do these oppose each other, and how are each of these principles represented in your day to day life? The delight and meditation that Psalm 1 describes is really describing our lives being immersed in God the same way a tree’s root systems is totally immersed in soil.
4. What is your life immersed in?
5. How would you describe the place where your heart is planted?