Annie
Scriptures: Psalm 19 Deuteronomy 32:13 Psalm 81:16
What is your reaction when you hear the word “meditation”? Probably since the 1960s, so all of their lives for anyone under 60 years of age, the word tends to evoke images of cross legged “hippies”, chanting mantras and worshipping false gods. But God’s interpretation of how to meditate is so different.
The dictionary definition of the word meditate, includes the premise that it is to focus one’s mind on the spiritual, using silence or chanting to heighten spiritual awareness. However, is this what God meant when He instructs us in the Bible to meditate? I believe He is very specific, our meditation has to be acceptable to Him. We are to meditate upon His Word, upon Him, not some nebulous state of being, or elevated level of perception that makes us feel better about ourselves. And meditating upon God’s Word can take many forms.
Do you remember the opening scene of the movie “The Sound of Music”? There was a very young Julie Andrews, rejoicing in the glory of God’s creation on a stunning hillside, would you consider this to be meditating? What about gazing upward at the night sky, enthralled by the myriad of stars winking back at you, is this meditating? Or sitting on a forest floor as a tiny South Island robin lands on your outstretched foot, and tilts its head as it sings – just for you? The beauty and wonder of God’s creation is a glorious source for meditating as God would have us do – joyfully and reverently focussing upon Him and Him alone.
In His Word, God uses the delight of His creation to lead us into seeing His Hand and His Power in all that surrounds us, if we open the eyes of our hearts as we ponder upon this amazing world we live in. I often ask myself whether I take for granted the tiniest parts of this creation, think about the minute, intricate details encompassed in the design of each unique snowflake. It is only God who values uniqueness to this degree, only God would ever do this. Only God cares that much.
Psalm 19 begins with the words “The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork” and ends with a prayer “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, o Lord, my strength and my Redeemer”. The whole Psalm truly is a blueprint for how God desires our meditation to be. As we fix our eyes upon Him, declaring His greatness, His goodness, feasting on His abundant banquet that is laid before us in the heavens and the earth, our meditation flows in worship and awe of Him. As we reflect on His righteousness and truth, we become absorbed into His way of seeing our life in its true light. The bountiful, limitless love that He has for us washes over us, cleansing and healing our souls, replacing despair with hope, giving us His beauty for the ashes of our sorrow and pain. Like pure, sweet honey from the Rock, He nourishes us and brings us peace.
In scripture, God speaks of feeding His people with honey from the Rock. In Deuteronomy 32: 13 and Psalm 81:16 we are reminded that God literally fed the nation of Israel in the wilderness with sweet, nourishing honey from a hard flint rock. As we wander through our wilderness journeys, we can be totally assured that God is ready and able to feed us with this same sweet nourishment. And, when we feed from this seemingly impossible source, we learn to value what it means to meditate from the our heart, the very depth of our being, upon His goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives.
To be acceptable to God, our meditation has to come from our heart, it has be honest and transparent, not a ritual of chanting and repetitive phrases, but an outpouring of our inexpressible gratitude for all God is and all He does. Our meditation is our daily bread, a feast of abundant, extravagant delight laid before us to relish and enjoy in our darkest moments as well as our times of greatest joy.
Prayer: Abba Father, may we indeed taste and see that You are good, as we in joy and in sorrow turn our hearts toward You, declaring that You are God, You are our sustenance, our strength, our Redeemer. In Jesus Name, and by the power of Holy Spirit, we say “so be it”, Amen.
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