Day 5: Absorbing God's Word Today's reading is drawn from Joshua 1:7-8. THERE WAS NOTHING MORE VALUABLE to Joshua than the Book of Instruction that Moses had left him. Because Joshua had God’s instructions and promises in writing, he could meditate on them and know what God expected. Similarly, the Bible, the written Word of God, is our most valuable tangible possession. We need this book. We need to absorb it. It’s our spiritual diet. Even if we have read it and taught it for decades, we need it every day. Why? Because we’ll lose our way quickly if we don’t meditate on it day and night and then live according to what God says in its pages. There are at least five ways we progressively absorb the Word of God. To remember them, think of the fingers on your hand: The little finger represents hearing. The simplest way to take in the Word is to listen to someone read and explain it. It’s not the most effective way, but it’s where most of us start, and God uses it. The ring finger represents reading. Changing from a passive hearer to an active reader of the Word is a major step forward. The best way to do this is to read in large chunks, even whole books at a time. It might sound hard at first, but it’s easier than you think. By doing this, you’ll see things that you miss when you only read one or two verses. The middle finger represents studying. The difference between reading and studying is very simple: It’s a piece of paper and a pen. To begin studying, take notes as you read or listen. Write down the things that God shows you as you think about a passage. The index finger represents memorizing. I don’t know how many people waste their time waiting in doctors’ offices and never once use the time to commit a couple of verses of Scripture to memory. If you memorize God’s Word, you will have it ready when you need it, even when you don’t have your Bible in your lap. Having passages of Scripture committed to memory has saved me from fears, from foolish statements, from wrong decisions, and from unwise counsel. Finally, the thumb represents meditating. The idea of meditating on Scripture sounds foreign to many of us because we’re often too busy and the world is too noisy. We don’t like silence. Can you recall the last time you spent five or six hours alone in silence? Probably never! Try spending some time away from distractions, and use that time to turn the Scriptures over in your mind. This isn’t the same thing as studying. It is prayerfully dwelling with the Scriptures and listening for God to speak to you through them. Absorbing God’s Word is not just about hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating. The final step is living it out! That means allowing the Word to shape your will so that you reap the benefits of patience and kindness and wisdom and understanding. Biblical application gives you a calm view of life, freedom from worry, and release from caring about what people say or think about you. Ultimately, absorbing God’s Word is about walking with God and living a life that conforms to what He thinks. When you do that, His blessings await. [call out text: Absorbing God’s Word is about walking with God.] | 
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