Christian Meditation

Posted On June 7, 2020

“Be still, and know that I am God . . .”

Psalm 46:10 NIV

In 2017 Max Lucado wrote a book called Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World. In it he stated, “According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are reaching epidemic proportions. . . . The United States is now the most anxious nation in the world.” And this was before we had the corona virus and rioting in the streets. I would be surprised to find anyone who isn’t anxious right now. So what do we do? How do we find peace in a world full of strife? Rev. Lucado reminds us to turn to God’s Word, specifically Philippians 4:4-8. There we will find what he calls the “pathway out of the valley of fret”:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, 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 4:4-8 NIV

Rev. Lucado takes the advice in this Scripture passage and condenses it into the following steps for finding calm:
Celebrate God’s goodness.
Ask God for help.
Leave your concerns with him.
Meditate on good things.
Celebrate. Ask. Leave. Meditate. C.A.L.M.

In this post, I will discuss some aspects of meditation we as Christians can adopt to reduce anxiety and find God’s peace. As we explore these, we will also look at each of Rev. Lucado’s C.A.L.M. steps to find calm. I am not an expert on meditation. I am simply sharing some things that have worked for me and some advice from Christian books I have read. We’ll start with meditation on Scripture. I think the most important first step in any aspect of Christian life is to spend time in God’s Word.

Meditating on Scripture

“By your words I can see where I’m going;
they throw a beam of light on my dark path. . . .
Everything’s falling apart on me, God;
put me together again with your Word.”

Psalm 119:105,107 MSG

As human beings we all battle anxiety. Even Jesus did. In the Garden of Gethsemane He was so anxious He began sweating blood. But Jesus didn’t give in to His fears. He turned them over to the Father. He will help us to do the same. As Rev. Lucado reminds us, the first step we are given in Philippians 4:4 is to rejoice in the Lord: Celebrate God’s goodness. This means to take a break from our problems and take a few moments to focus on God. It doesn’t do any good to focus on our worries. But lifting up our eyes to the Lord can do us a world of good.

“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ ”

Matthew 14:29-30 NIV

Peter was able to do the impossible as long as he kept his eyes on Christ. But as soon as he focused his gaze on the storm he began to sink. Rev. Lucado uses this story to remind us: “If you are sinking, it is because you are looking in the wrong direction. . . .” For me the best way to celebrate God and focus on Christ is to turn to the Bible. We can read Scripture. We can study Scripture. But the most effective way to get God’s Word deep into our hearts, minds, and souls is to meditate on Scripture.

“Happiness among believers is proportionate to the time invested in the humble study of God’s Word. . . . Through Scripture meditation, prayer, group Bible study, and sitting under the teaching of God’s Word, we get to know our Lord better and draw closer to Him. In the process, we cultivate overflowing happiness.”

Randy Alcorn, Seeing the Unseen

In The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God James W. Goll defines meditating on Scripture as thinking deeply and intensely about, reflecting on, contemplating, pondering, and gazing at the passage. It means focusing on a small portion of Scripture and turning it over and over in your mind. It may only be a single verse or even just a few words that you are chewing on. Dr. Goll quotes Peter Toon, author of Meditating as a Christian: “Meditation is . . . taking to heart, reading slowly and carefully, prayerfully taking in, and humbly receiving into mind, heart, and will that which God has revealed . . . by the indwelling Spirit of Christ.” The point is to keep your mind focused on the passage and give the Holy Spirit time to show you how to apply it to your own life. Then the Word of God becomes “alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

Rick Warren describes meditation as “thought digestion.” In his Bible Study Methods, he gives practical methods for Scriptural meditation, including visualizing the scene, emphasizing different words in the passage, rewriting the passage in your own words, personalizing the passage with your name, and using what he calls the “S-P-A-C-E-P-E-T-S acrostic” to apply it to your life:
Is there any . . .

• Sin to confess?
• Promise to claim?
• Attitude to change?
• Command to obey?
• Example to follow?
• Prayer to pray?
• Error to avoid?
• Truth to believe?
• Something to praise God for?

“It takes discipline and conscious effort to keep the Lord front and center and to find happiness in Him. But when we do, the payoff is huge.”

Randy Alcorn, Seeing the Unseen

The first step in dealing with anxiety is to turn to God. I do this by turning to the Bible. I have a daily Scripture writing plan and a daily Scripture reading plan. I spend time reading, writing, and digesting His Word. I have a journal in which I write my concerns and then what I feel He is telling me in that day’s passages. It always amazes me what insights I am able to gain. When I give the Holy Spirit time to speak to my soul, He tells me “great and unsearchable things” (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV). And this helps me deal with any worries. I have had to work at cultivating this habit, and sometimes I am not as faithful as I should be. But then I discover that without God I feel lost. When I make a conscious effort to spend time engaging with God’s Word every day, He gives me wisdom, strength, and peace so that I can find joy in all circumstances.

“Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!”

Philippians 4:4 TLB

Rev. Lucado says, “Rejoice in the Lord. This is step one. Do not hurry past it. Face God before you face your problem. Then you will be ready to . . . Ask God for help.” Asking God for help means making a specific request of Him and then waiting in quiet expectation for His answer. Jesus promises: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NIV). If we ask something of Him, He will listen. It helps me to write down these prayers in my journal. This forces me to figure out exactly what I’m worrying about, turn it over to God, and then let go of it. It also gives me something to refer back to once the prayer has been answered. I periodically read through previous entries in my journal to see exactly how God has been working in my life, and I’m always awed and comforted by His guidance. Even if a prayer hasn’t been answered yet, He will send messages of hope and encouragement. I know I can stand on His promises and rely on Him to work in all things “for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28 NIV).

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.”

Philippians 4:6 MSG

Mindfulness

“You explore the universe. We’ve discovered that a single moment in time can be a universe in itself, full of powerful forces. Most people aren’t aware enough of the now to even notice.”

Star Trek: Insurrection

I love the visual effects in the clip above. Thinking of that scene reminds me to slow down and focus on the power and beauty of God all around me. It’s a reminder to quiet my thoughts and worries about the past or the future and just be in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation is also a way to do that. It forces us to focus on what’s happening right now instead of getting lost in thoughts of what was or what might be. Max Lucado describes anxiety as a “meteor shower of what-ifs.” Our minds get caught up worrying about things that may never happen. Or we play events that have already happened over and over in our minds wishing we could change them. While it’s good to learn from past mistakes and make preparations for the future, we cannot let anxiety about the past or future hijack the joy God wants us to have in our lives right now.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Matthew 6:34 MSG

In the June 2020 issue of the Reader’s Digest there is an article on mindfulness meditation called “Find Peace Anytime, Anyplace.” After a panic attack on live television the author turned to meditation to help control his symptoms of depression. The article describes many of the health benefits of meditation, including lowering blood pressure, strengthening the immune system, and alleviating symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression. Meditation can also help your brain by slowing down age-related deterioration and rewiring the parts involved with self-awareness, compassion, and resilience. To perform mindfulness meditation, sit comfortably, close your eyes or focus on a neutral point on the ground, and bring your full attention to your breath. Focus on feeling the physical sensations of your breath coming in and out. If it helps, you can think “in” on each breath in and “out” on each breath out to maintain mental focus. Whenever your mind begins to wander back to random thoughts, bring your focus back to your breath. The key is to notice when you get distracted and start over, focusing on the present moment. I have found it helpful, instead of thinking “in” and “out”, on each breath to say something like “peace in” and “fear out” or “joy in” and “worry out” or even “let go” and “let God” when I’m meditating. I admit, I’ve only tried it a few times, but it has helped. It relaxes me and quiets my mind when I’m feeling anxious so that I can experience God’s peace.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 TLB

I should mention that because mindfulness meditation is derived from Buddhism, there is some controversy among Christians about whether or not it should be performed. I think as long as we remember to practice discernment and keep our focus on God and His Word, it’s fine. But again, I am not an expert, and I haven’t researched all the arguments for or against mindfulness meditation in Christianity. I encourage you to do some research if you are concerned about it. In The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God James W. Goll reminds us: “The only way we can accurately and safely approach interpreting the motivation behind revelatory activity of any kind is to ask God for the spirit of wisdom and understanding. . . . the Bible is our absolute standard against which we must test spiritual experiences.” Because we strive to quiet our own thoughts during mindfulness meditation, we are creating an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. However, as Dr. Goll explains, if we are ignorant of Scripture we cannot be sure it’s really God speaking. This is why it is so important to fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word. God never contradicts Himself, so any message that’s from Him must agree with Scripture.

“There is no true or solid peace to be enjoyed in the world except in the way of reposing upon the promises of God.”

John Calvin

Rev. Lucado says that after we celebrate God’s goodness and ask God for help, the next step is: Leave your concerns with God. Let go and let God take charge. He will let us know if He wants us to do something. Until then, we need to replace our worries with gratitude. God wants us to practice thanksgiving because doing so keeps us focused on the present. Maybe another “mantra” we can use while meditating is “thank You” on each in breath and “dear Lord” on each out breath. By focusing on the blessings we have right now, we prevent our thoughts from straying into worries about the past or the future. There is a beautiful song written by Pepper Choplin called “One Step He Leads” that reminds us to give each day to the Lord, trusting Him to take care of tomorrow. You can read the lyrics below. I have also included a YouTube video of this song at the end of this post.

“One Step He Leads”

Sometimes I worry and wish I could see
What lies ahead, what the future will be.
But God calls me on to follow in faith,
And He’ll take tomorrow if I give Him today.

One step He leads and one step I’ll follow,
God knows my needs and He will supply.
I don’t know the future and all that’s in store,
So I’ll take one step, one step, to follow my Lord.

Jesus said, “Leave all your worries, forget all your cares,
What you will eat and what you will wear.
But seek first my kingdom and all that is right.
Your needs shall be given as you live in the light.

One step He leads and one step I’ll follow,
God knows my needs and He will supply.
I don’t know the future and all that’s in store,
So I’ll take one step, one step, to follow my Lord.

Pepper Choplin

Thinking about “Good Things”

“There are two wolves, and they’re always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins?
. . . Whichever one you feed.”

Tomorrowland

The fourth step in Rev. Lucado’s C.A.L.M. is to Meditate on good things. We can’t always control what happens, but we can control what we think about it. As Rev. Lucado says, “Life gives lemons to good people, bad people, old people, all people. Life comes with lemons. But we don’t have to suck on them.” He describes us as the air traffic controllers of our own mental airports. We control which of our circling thoughts have permission to land and which ones need to take off. The point of the Tomorrowland movie, which I quoted above, is that whatever fills our brains becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we are filled with despair, the world will become a desolate place. If we are filled with hope, the world will become a wonderful place. The same is true for our own personal wellbeing. If we wallow in self-pity, guilt, or anxiety and always assume the worst, beat ourselves up, and complain, we will be miserable. If we fill our lives with Scripture, prayer, hymns, and gratitude for God’s blessings, we sow the seeds of happiness. Our thoughts have the power to make us or break us. We must form new habits of healthy thinking. Rev. Lucado puts it this way: “Your challenge is not your challenge. Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge.”

“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.”

Philippians 4:8 TLB

So how do we do it? I admit, this all sounds really good, but I don’t know if I can think “good thoughts” all the time. I know me; I can definitely be a worrier. The good news is that we don’t have to do all the work. Jesus will help us. Our job is just to cling to Him. Abide in Him. Rev. Lucado explains: “You long to be ‘anxious for nothing.’ You long for the fruit of the Spirit. But how do you bear this fuit? Try harder? No, hang tighter. Our assignment is not fruitfulness but faithfulness. The secret to fruit bearing and anxiety-free living is less about doing and more about abiding.” For me this means spending time in God’s Word and prayer every day. It means focusing my thoughts on Him. It means holding on to Him for dear life and trusting Him to show me the way.

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31-32 ESV

With God’s help we can learn to deal with anxiety and live our lives with more calm and peace. It’s not easy, and it will take some work. Rev. Lucado also points out: “for some of you God’s healing will include the help of therapy and/or medication. If that is the case, do not for a moment think that you are a second-class citizen of heaven. Ask God to lead you to a qualified counselor or physician who will provide the treatment you need.” I’m still learning, but the more I remember to focus on God, the more success I have living the joy-filled life God wants for all of us. He is waiting to help us. All we have to do is ask.

“A new day awaits you, my friend. A new season in which you will worry less and trust more. A season with reduced fear and enhanced faith. Can you imagine a life in which you are anxious for nothing? God can. And, with his help, you will experience it.”

Max Lucado, Anxious for Nothing

This week’s Scripture passages encourage us to meditate on God’s wonders and hide in His love. There is a printer-friendly pdf version below the image. I have also posted a video of the song “One Step He Leads.” I encourage you to listen to it several times — get it stuck in your head! This will give you some ammunition for driving away anxious thoughts so that you can rest in God’s joy and peace.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

References:

• Alcorn, Randy. Seeing the Unseen, Expanded Edition: A 90-Day Devotional to Set Your Mind on Eternity. Multnomah, 2017.
• Goll, James W. The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God. Regal from Gospel Light, 2008.
• Harris, Dan, and Jeffrey Warren with Emily Goodman. “Find Peace Anytime, Anyplace.” The Reader’s Digest, June 2020, pp. 24-27.
• Lucado, Max. Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World. Thomas Nelson, 2017.
• “Mindfulness in Star Trek Insurrection.” YouTube, uploaded by Mountain High School – DSD, 25 January 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4X8ixlf_IU.
• “One Step He Leads.” YouTube, uploaded by Klein Vhon, 21 March 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpW-zBV5_mA.
• Star Trek: Insurrection. Dir. Jonathan Frakes. Paramount Studios, 1998.
• “There are two wolves.” YouTube, uploaded by Robert, 24 September 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj-iEV7tgKE.
• Tomorrowland. Dir. Brad Bird. Walt Disney Studios, 2015. Film.
• Warren, Rick. Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God’s Word. Zondervan, 2006.

Images:

• Tea Lights featured image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
• Water image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
• Bible image by charlotte_202003 from Pixabay