Meditate on God to Satisfy Your Soul
Whether or not you’re a pastor, the work of making disciples is long and arduous. The length of time this work takes means that while we can give you ideas on how to begin, finishing the task is for you and the Holy Spirit. First, schedule a period of time—two or three days a week—to hide from people, machines, and work-related issues, and then face yourself in the presence of God alone. Jesus spent a lot of his time trying to get away from people; be his disciple in this way and excel at it. This could be thirty minutes or one hour. When you get away, just sit there or stand or kneel. Whatever you do, don’t say or do anything for some time; just practice listening to your own head. Of course, this will be hard. Now, you can pray or quote scripture, but be otherwise silent and practice being in a room alone with God for an extended period of time.
This is an excerpt from The Discipleship Gospel (available in eBook and paperback). Get a discount by using code ‘TBP’ at checkout when you order here.
Consider how the world moves on without you, how others accomplish work without you. Think about how few people actually think about your disciple-making work, how much of a privilege it is to work, to matter, and to make a difference. This is just the detox period, where we learn to live without the noise, the beeps, the pings, the sing-song ringtones, and the ridiculous notion that being online and available makes you important. Don’t be legalistic about the whole thing. Instead, relax. Learn how to pray again and to think deeply, and you will find that you will become the kind of person who has something to say.
For some of you, developing this type of soul satisfaction is a foreign concept. Let me (Bill) give you a pointer on what it means to glorify God and magnify his Holy Name, to behold his beauty: don’t focus in your head, but use your head. If you’re anything like me, you may be confused when someone tells you to, “Go sit under a tree and enjoy God.” I’ve heard people quite sincerely and full of passion speak about how they “beheld God’s beauty.” I don’t doubt their authenticity, but I’ve often wondered, What are they talking about? What did they see and where did they see it? I’ve been around a bit, and I could make an educated guess. I think they’re speaking of being moved by a thought, a Scriptural passage, a certain memory, or a special experience. My point here is to encourage you to not try too hard for a special, earth-moving experience when you’re sitting under that tree. Listen for the Lord, even if it takes some time.
I’ve learned that to magnify the Lord, to behold his beauty, starts with observing what’s around me. For example, the tree. You’re sitting in its shade, leaning on its trunk for support, and God created that tree. Then, move to the grass, and on to the sky, the sun, the clouds, the wind, and the wildlife. If you’re in the midst of hills or mountains, behold them and marvel at God. As you start to marvel in all that God has created, you magnify him. This focused practice should lead to some form of praise and thanksgiving along with a genuinely insightful perspective on life. You may, for example, be able to use this practice to meditate on the truth that Jesus is holding this whole enterprise together. Don’t feel the pressure to make something up or to have “holy thoughts.” Relax. You just might become a contemplative yet.
This was taken from The Discipleship Gospel by Bill Hull and Ben Sobels. Used by permission of HIM Publications. Use code TBP at checkout for a discount when you place your order here.