REALLY? GOD WANTS ME TO DO THIS?
Christine Wyrtzen
Satan is never original. He can’t create anything. He takes what was God’s, twists it and perverts it, and then calls it his. So in light of that, why would Christians believe that ‘meditation’ is synonymous with ‘New Age’? It is not. It originated with God and it is His concept. Satan hijacked it. God gave it to His people all the way back in the book of Deuteronomy.
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)
Meditation was clearly supposed to be a way of life. It is a practice where scripture simmers constantly in my thoughts. If I am out for a walk, having lunch with a friend, sitting at my desk working, or straightening up my family room, thoughts of scripture co-exist alongside my life. I’m still turning over and over the meaning of what I read earlier. I’m talking to the Holy Spirit about it and asking Him to unveil what is hidden to me.
Meditation is not the same as bible study. It is not the same as reading through the bible in a year. Meditation involves a couple of verses at a time. The Hebrew word for meditate is ‘hagah’ which means to savor slowly. “Taste (hagah) and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalms 34:8) To savor a bite of food means that it sits on my tongue and I chew it slowly. I engage with the taste of it in every way possible before swallowing. Jeremiah said, “Your words were found and I ate them; and they were the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
Why meditate? Because it re-wires the way I think, aligns my feelings, and changes me into someone who thinks, feels, and then acts like Jesus. So, how do I meditate? What skills are involved? I’m going to make this the topic of our devotionals for the next week. Be prepared to see the parched spiritual landscape of your life change with the addition of this life-giving, God-given spiritual discipline.
In 1997, I was in a deep spiritual, emotional, and physical pit of despair. For three years, I began to engage in biblical mediation alongside bible study. Upon this ~ I finally experienced personal transformation. And upon this ~ Daughters of Promise was born.
Let us sit up straight together, Lord. Sisters. Students. Taught by the Spirit of the Rabbi. We will be changed and it will be stunning. Amen.
Originally published Tuesday, 30 October 2018.
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