We are in a 5-week series called the Daily Practice to consider how we can take a step forward in doing the small, daily things that make a big difference in our spiritual growth and mental well-being.

This is week 2 on Meditation. I hope you will dive in and participate, so we can grow together. If you want to journey with a friend, please forward this email!

Find the podcast version here

Resources for this week are at the end of this post.

What's the deal with meditation?

Some of us grew up with funny ideas about meditation. If it wasn’t Christian, it was considered unholy. If it was Christian, it might have been synonymous with scripture memorization. Or it was just weird.

Let’s look at what meditation really is.

The dictionary says that meditation is continued or extended thought, reflection, or contemplation.

By this standard, meditation is also what we do in the shower. It’s what we do after a meal with a friend when we analyze the conversation we just had. It’s what we do in the middle of the night when we struggle to sleep.

What makes meditation so powerful - to our benefit or our detriment - is that our contemplation often becomes our reality.

Our contemplation about our fears often makes us more fearful, for example.

I would like to slough off any old ideas about meditation and take on a more accurate perspective. Meditation is the thinking we do, and the mindset we create as a result. It’s the place where we choose to believe lies or truth all day long, every day.

Key Verse

Here is our key verse on meditation: Psalm 63:5-7, ESV

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

When I remember you upon my bed,

And meditate on you in the watches of the night;

For you have been my help,

And in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”

Here is the revolutionary part of this scripture — David is in the wilderness when he’s writing or reciting this. It is only his reflection on the character of God and how God sustains Him that enables him to speak this way. There are no real wings covering him. There is no rich food. But these words depict how David *feels* in the comfort and sustaining power of his God.

It’s become so real for Him that it’s in his mind and his heart. It’s his truth.

I want to live like that.

I want God’s character to be so real to me that it enables me to see him instead of see all of my problems. I want his truth to be so real that it banishes every lie before it can take root.

Daily Practice

Here is the small change we will daily practice this week to make a lasting difference in our spiritual growth and mental well-being.

Pick one scripture to meditate on (see Resources below). Consider the character of God and who He is for you. Reflect on it. Lean into it all week.

And then when you find yourself in extended thought (in the car, in the night, in the shower, etc.) stop and consider whether those words are true or false. Do they match the narrative of God’s word or are they thoughts that discourage you?

Remember that you are God’s beloved kid and He is only for your good. Live in that this week. And Voila! you are meditating. You can extend this into a meditation practice, but that is up to you. For now, let’s focus on the low-hanging fruit - the all day long meditation of our minds.

Prayer

God, you see our wandering minds and our troubled thoughts and you hold all of the answers, and the calm that we crave. Thank you for your mercy as we grow. Help us this week to think on You, to receive your great love and provision in a new way, and to change the pathways of our thoughts. Amen.