Spiritual Discipline Of Meditation Series

Spiritual Disciplines - Meditation

June 27, 2021

Have you ever had something happen in life where at that very moment you were unable to think rationally? Sometimes, it’s those little things, little decisions, and you just feel paralyzed about what to do.

And there are also those monumental moments when we can’t think. We’re caught off guard and our minds seem to shut off. Our hearts are racing, our spirits are in over-drive, our bodies feel it, but our minds have turned off. Sometimes that’s self preservation and protection.

We receive news that is not good. Maybe it’s from a doctor, or a family member, or maybe it’s job related. Whatever it is, it’s not good. We feel it in our bodies, but our minds seem to go numb. Even with good news, our minds can go blank.

Ever happen to you?!

When these moments occur, and they do in all of our lives . . . we need to learn how to slow down and process what’s happening. Too often in our lives, we don’t take the time to process. After all, we’re busy. We have life to live, work and school and family and we think . . . “I’ll get to it later!” But the more we put some things off, the harder it is on us and those around us.

Honestly, this sounds like a self help talk, yet, this is really going to be about the spiritual discipline of Biblical Meditation.

Too many of us don’t know how to slow down. So, how do we cope when life is spinning out of control, and all we think we can do is hang on, and what we hang onto is the very thing we should be letting go of? Oh, we do hold onto God, we hang on like a cat clawing its way up a screen.

You see, God didn’t create us to simply endure, instead, we’re to enjoy and celebrate life. We take passages like John 10:10 as fact and believe this is what God wants for us . . . to live the exceedingly abundant life. Are you living that life? Are you living the EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT life? Because you and I were created for so much more than we can ever imagine. Or are you living the first part of that verse! Jesus said --

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

You see, satan wants to destroy you. He wants you to have no coping abilities. He wants to destroy your hope, your heart, your spirit. He wants you to pull away from God - - when you should be drawing nearer to God. But Jesus came to give us abundant life. And honestly, not many Christ followers feel that. We struggle to make it another day. So, what can we do? Meditate?

Yup . . . yet, most Christians are very suspicious of . . . meditation.

When we think of meditation we think of Buddhists and others sitting with their legs crossed in some position which I can’t get into, and we chant or simply say “Ummmmmmm.” That is our view of meditation. Most Christians don’t meditate and have no desire to it and no clue what it is.

On 58 different occasions in the O.T. we’re told to meditate. Psalm 1 tells us --

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

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

4 I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. - Psalm 63:4-7

Genesis 24 simply mentions the fact that -

63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. - Genesis 24:63

The point of meditation is to connect with God, so that we can listen to God’s plan and desire for us in life.

It’s almost that simple, yet there is something about meditation that can be scary. It is not concrete. It’s not like reading the Bible, where you can hold the book in your hands. Meditation is about you and God . . . and maybe that in and of itself is the scariest part. We come face to face with God . . . alone. Just you and God, and for many people that can be scary. Yet, isn’t that what we do in prayer, we call upon God as we make our requests known.