meditation

Promises, Blessings, and Smiles

“The promises are of no use or comfort to us, until they are meditated upon.” – Thomas Watson

Are you smiling today? If you are more stressed than joyful or more worried than peaceful, there’s something you can do that might help. Turn to God’s word, not just to read it, but to think about it, to ask him to help you see what he wants you to see. Here’s an example:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul (Psalm 23:1-3a).

Some of you know this so well, you can go on to quote the rest of the psalm. But do we really know what it means when God said that with him as our caretaker, we won’t lack anything? He controls everything – money, health, wisdom, weather, etc. And he promises not to withhold anything we need.

If we really believed that, how would it change our level of contentment? How would it calm our anxiety?

What does it tell us about God’s provision when we read that he takes his sheep to green pastures and still waters? What does it mean to have God restore our souls? Think about these things for a while. What do these verses say to you?

God intends for his word to be read, but he wants so much more than that. He wants it to soak into our hearts as we ponder what he says, and as we accept it as truth. When we do that, we are blessed, no matter what circumstances surround us. And that kind of blessing will bring smiles to our faces!

“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promise.” – Psalm 119:148

Letting Him Speak

“When God speaks to you, he is not writing a new book of Scripture; rather, he is applying to your life what he has already said in his Word.” – Henry Blackaby

Ready for a spiritual experiment? Try this:

Worship Jesus. Adore him for who he is, what he’s done, and what he promises.

Remember. Ask him to bring to help you remember a story about him from one of the Gospels. See which event comes to mind (don’t sort through several – just take the first one).

Meditate for a few minutes on that story.

For me recently it was the account of Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter. The detail I zeroed in on was that, though there were many people there, Jesus allowed only three to go in with him. My heart went immediately to “I want to be one of the three!” I want to be close to Jesus, one of his most trusted companions, one who can see everything he does and hear everything he says.

Draw a conclusion.

Jesus reminded me that, if I wanted to be like Peter, James, and John, I need to stay close to him and not lag behind. I need to ask questions and listen for answers. I need to suggest things I’d like him to do and then learn from his response – just as they did throughout the Gospels.

When we give Jesus our attention, he responds. His response encourages us and deepens our desire for more of him. If you’re ready for that connection, you might want to try a spiritual experiment like this one.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” – John 16:13

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Sit still.

In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him…that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him – totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence. – Chuck Swindoll

It’s a human failing to try to do too much, too fast, without pause for refreshment or renewal. It’s so easy to get to that place: a place of anxiety, restlessness, fatigue.

Recently, my morning reading took me to 2 Samuel 7 where I read that King David went to the place of worship and “sat before the Lord.” Eventually he prayed, and God responded, but I loved that, at first, he just sat there in stillness, knowing he was in the presence of the holy, almighty, sovereign God.

Do we ever do that? Just find a quiet place and sit in God’s presence? As if we have all the time in the world. As if he’s the most important person in our lives. As if sitting with him is the most important thing we have to do that day. Maybe it is.

David was King. He probably was busy all the time. But this day, he cleared his schedule. He walked away from all the hubub of the palace to find God in a tent and sit in his presence. Just reading that made me want the same. Sometimes we need to do a little clearing of our own schedules, so the connection stays strong, so his voice can be heard, and so we will restist the temptation to rush off and try to do everything without him.

Just sit. In his presence. Still. Quiet. All will be well . . .

“My soul clings to you;  your right hand upholds me.” – Psalm 63:8

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What do you admire?

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.” – 1 Peter 3:15a

Recently the devotional I’m reading asked me to think about what I admired most about Jesus. I had never thought of that before, but it didn’t take me long to have an answer to that question.

We could admire Jesus for a lot of things, couldn’t we?

For his compassion toward people of all walks in life.

For his miracles that restored sight, strength, health, and even life.

For his teaching that amazed even the most educated among his listeners.

For his willingness to leave behind everything comfortable and perfect in heaven to come to a dusty, dirty earth to rescue us from sin.

But what I admire most is his relationship to his Father in heaven. He prayed a lot, talking to the other members of the trinitarian God. He listened for God’s direction. He went to his Father when he was tired, or lonely, or unsure of what to do next. He seemed to gain strength and clarity from that relationship and, above all else, he wanted to please the Father, to do his will – no matter what it cost him.

This kind of exercise is not about getting the “right” answer, but it simply challenges us to think about Jesus – to meditate on who he is, what he did, what he taught, and the spiritual life he offers to all mankind. So, if you want to try it, enjoy the journey. We’re always blessed when we’re thinking about Jesus.

“Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right. Do what’s best – as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. You’re in charge! – Eugene Peterson

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Sacred Imagination

“Oh, how I love your law!  I meditate on it all day long.” – Psalm 119:97

Do you sometimes feel there’s more your could get out of reading the Bible, but you just don’t know how? Many have realized through the centuries there are gifts of understanding God wants to give us that we won’t get by reading and study alone. Let me share what may be, for you, a new way of engaging with God through his Word. All you need is some quiet time and your imagination.

We can engage our imaginations by mentally placing ourselves in a biblical story. Recently I read the story of the woman anointing Jesus’ feet while he was dining at a Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36-50). Then I decided to relive the story in my imagination. I saw myself in the place of this unnamed woman. She had a tarnished reputation, but she loved Jesus a lot. I imagined what she must have been feeling as the men around the table watched her anoint Jesus’ feet with her tears, knowing many of them were judging her. As I walked through the story in my mind with emotions fully engaged, I began to feel the weight of guilt she must have felt about her past and then the lightness of joy of hearing Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven. . . Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” 

Want to try it? Next time you read a biblical narrative, enter into it, imagining the surroundings, the other people, the smells and sounds, and sensing your own response as the story unfolds. Imagination is a gift from God. If we let him, he can use it to teach and transform us.

“Human imagination is not simply our means of reaching out to God, but God’s means of manifesting himself to us.” – Christian Wiman

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Abiding and Asking

“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” – John 16:24

When Jesus knew he was about to be arrested and crucified, some of his last words to his disciples were these: “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

The last conversations of a person’s life are important ones. This was something Jesus wanted etched on the hearts of those he would soon leave behind. Let’s take a look at what he was asking of them (and us):

Abide in me: This directive describes a deeply united relationship with Jesus. Abiding requires our giving of attention to him, constantly staying close to him, and never wandering off on our own: Always connected by conversation, prayer, thought, and intention.

Let my words abide in you: He wants us to meditate on what he taught. And, we have so much of his teaching recorded in the gospels! We should study to know what he said, think about how his message applies to us today, and memorize enough of his words so the Spirit can bring them to our minds when we need them.

The result of those two kinds of abiding? An ongoing, effective prayer life. Jesus promises that if we stay close to him and open to him, he will hear and answer us when we pray. Maybe because we will be praying the right prayers!

“Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with–better still, using us as one of the fingers of His hand.” – Charles C. G. Trumbull

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Shall we dance?

“Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” – Jeremiah 31:13

I have a dear friend who loves Jesus a lot. She shared something with me she had told no one else and now she’s given me permission to share it with you: She dances with Jesus.

“We slow dance (to the music of) certain songs or hymns we sing at church. I close my eyes and I can feel His shoulder, and His cheek against my hair, and we move to the music.  It’s so dear. And in those brief moments I feel He loves me so much.”

Her message awakened my soul! It spoke of slowing down, of giving Jesus my time and full attention, of feeling at my core how much he wants to be close to me.

Sometimes we use our sanctified imagination to be able to feel his nearness. Music enhances that sense. Movement makes it part of our very being. Dancing may be the God-ordained way to soothe our souls, energize our bodies, and connect our hearts with our heavenly Lover.

The Bible clearly endorses dancing as an expression of our heart toward God:

“Let them praise his name with dancing . . .” – Psalm 149:3a
“You turned my wailing into dancing . . .” – Psalm 30:11a

“Praise him with tambourine and dancing.” – Psalm 150:4a

Maybe for you it’s a joy that requires you to move in energetic expression. For others, it may be sensing God’s love, as shown in a slow, meditative movement. Don’t be afraid to dance your way into God’s presence. I think he loves it when we do that!

“Dance is meditation in movement, a walking into silence where every movement becomes prayer.” – Bernhard Wosien

 

#dancingwithjesus

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Life-Changing Prayers

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“God listens to those who are godly and who do His will.” – John 9:31

Prayer is a mystery to many of us. Why pray if God already knows what we need? Or, if we do pray, why don’t our prayers get answered? There’s no formula for effective praying, but today I will share some insights others have given me that may be helpful to you, too.

Sitting: Prayer is our response to God’s invitation to be with Him. He wants us to come confidently, joyfully, consistently, knowing we will always be welcomed. So let’s not barge into His presence brashly asking for things. First, we just sit for awhile, enjoying the pleasure of His company.

Confessing: We often will find thoughts coming into our minds during this time about things we do that hurt Him. We have to be willing to give up anything that blocks friendship with God. He knows we will never be perfect, but He requires that we acknowledge our sin and commit to being better. When we confess, He always forgives, makes us clean, and gives us strength.

Asking: Now we are ready to tell Him our troubles, pray for others who concern us, and ask Him to answer as He wishes.

Listening: Then we quietly wait for any message He may give. Sometimes it is a direction or an idea. At other times, a sense of peace, contentment, or joy. Listening, though, is the best part of prayer. Let’s not hurry away without hearing what He may have to say.

Now we are ready to face our day:  refreshed, clean, calm, energized, and prepared to serve Him and others. Let the adventure begin!

“God’s presence calms your spirit, gives you restful sleep, and quiets your mind. But you must give yourself completely to Him.” – Francois Fenelon

 

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Good Thinking!

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” . . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

“Grant, Lord, that I may not for one moment admit willingly into my soul any thought contrary to Your love.” (Edward Pusey d. 1882)

What if God answered that prayer? It would mean that certain kinds of thoughts would be eliminated from my mind: complaining, bitterness, anger, envy, self-condemnation, and unnecessary criticism, to be specific.

Getting rid of those thoughts would, of course, would make room for thinking about things that build faith, confidence, and joy – like thankfulness, encouragement, optimism, hopefulness, and contentment.

I’m joining this 19th Century man in his prayer as I ask God to use my will and His to change me so every thought I allow to remain in my mind is consistent with His love. So simple. So hard. I need you here, Holy Spirit.

“Divine love is perfect peace and joy, it is a freedom from all disquiet, it is all content and happiness; and makes everything to rejoice in itself.” – William Law

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Being Still

"Do everything with the awareness that you are acting before God and for His sake. At the sight of God's majesty, calmness and well-being should fill your spirit." - Fenelon

“At the sight of God’s majesty, calmness and well-being should fill your spirit.” -Francois de Fenelon

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Have you ever tried being still? It’s hard to do! When I was talking to God about that one day, it felt like He was telling me that I was going at it backwards: I was trying to be still so I could know Him. He wants me to know Him so I can be still.

“When you know that I am God, you will be still.

Behold Me. Look at Me. See Me for who I am.

You will find I am much, infinitely much, bigger than finances, accidents, cancer, relationships with toxic people, or any other problem you face.

I am God. Just stop for a few minutes and think about who I am. Being still is the only possible response to My glory.”

It seems that the secret of being still in God’s presence is beginning to understand who He really is. When we stop to view Him with amazement and wonder; when we accept the mystery of what we do not know of Him; and when we begin to glimpse His holiness, power, and love, the issues of our lives fade away and awed stillness is our only possible reaction.

Try changing your focus from your restlessness to God’s greatness and see what happens. It helps me a lot!

“Collect yourself in His presence with the one purpose and intent of loving Him.” – Michael Molinos