Joshua 1:8 instructs us, “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Amplified).
The Word IN you is the fountain of your success. Our success is not by willpower and self-effort. Our effort and work is to get the all-conquering Word in us and dominating us – it’s then we experience the success the Word gives.
This verse gives us three instructions: keep the Word in our mouths, meditate on the Word day and night, and do the Word.
One way for us to keep the Word in our mouths is by meditating on it day and night. To meditate means to think deeply into and to mutter to ourselves. This is dealing with what we allow in our THOUGHT LIVES and what we have our ATTENTION on. Meditation is how you get the Word in you and how you get you in the Word. The only part of the Word that will work for you is the part you get IN you – in your spirit – not just in your mind.
Meditating on the Word takes the limits off small thinking. Small thinking limits God and limits the degree of success we will have. We will have everything we are okay with – but if we will reach for more, God will back us up. Meditating on the Word is how we ENLARGE our spirits to lay hold of the greatness of His plan. We have to lay hold of things with our spirits first before we will ever see them come to pass. If you think, “I can’t have that,” you’re right, you can’t. Break off those limiting thoughts by meditating on the Word.
First Kings 4:29-30 read, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and LARGENESS OF HEART, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. The Amplified translation reads, “And God gave Solomon exceptionally much wisdom and understanding, and BREADTH OF MIND like the sand of the seashore.”
Solomon had no limits on the way he thought, and he had a large spirit that could accept and lay hold of the wealth God blessed him with. He had no limits on his thinking and his believing. This verse said his largeness of heart and breadth of mind was “like the sand of the seashore” – unlimited. Where did that largeness come from? God gave it to him.
I appreciate that the Word listed his wealth for us, for in seeing it, it helps break small thinking off of us.
King Solomon ruled from 970 BC to 931 BC, and during this time he received 25 tons of gold for each of the 39 years of his reign. That’s 50,000 pounds of gold each year, which totals almost 2 million pounds of gold over the 39 years. In today’s calculations, King Solomon’s net worth was $2.2 trillion. His wealth didn’t bother God – He was the one who blessed him with it.
Second Chronicles 9:13-29 lists his wealth. “Every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold, in addition to the taxes paid by the traders and merchants. The kings of Arabia and the governors of the Israelite districts also brought him silver and gold. Solomon made two hundred large shields, each of which was covered with about fifteen pounds of beaten gold, and three hundred smaller shields, each covered with about eight pounds of beaten gold. …The king also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with pure gold. Six steps led up to the throne, and there was a footstool attached to it, covered with gold. There were arms on each side of the throne, and the figure of a lion stood at each side. Twelve figures of lions were on the steps, one at either end of each step. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom. All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils…were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's day. He had a fleet of ocean-going ships. …Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in the world. They all consulted him, to hear the wisdom that God had given him. Each of them brought Solomon gifts—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year. King Solomon also had four thousand stalls for his chariots and horses, and had twelve thousand cavalry horses. …He was supreme ruler of all the kings in the territory from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah. Solomon imported horses from…every other country” (Good News Translation).
I’m not saying that everyone will amass the wealth of King Solomon, but I am saying that we are settling for far too less of what God has made ours! Since God’s blessing on Solomon enabled him to amass such a great natural wealth that is fleeting, just think of the wealth of the true riches that belong to us! How do we access that? We must allow the Word to enlarge our spirits and minds and break off small thinking and limited believing. We must engage in extravagant asking and extravagant receiving.
Meditating on the Word plays a big role in helping enlarge our spirits and minds and removing those limits that hinder us from receiving all God offers us. We have an end-time harvest to fund, so let’s take off the limits!