Meditation – It’s Food for the Soul

Are you concerned about what is happening in our society?  When we experience feeling of “uncertainty” in our life, we can expect its companion “anxiety” to be close behind. Maybe you are struggling with personal illness, legal problems, finances, family problems or employment. Maybe your parents that are considering “homeschooling” because of all the legislative issues on transgender bathrooms, whatever the catalyst that brings on your “dread monster” at one time or other, in our lives, we will face difficulty, confusion, and depression. Take it from one who has been there, it is not “if” it is “when” these feeling come upon you.

          First, we must realize that these feeling of dread, fear, and uncertainty are NOT from God. If you have trusted Christ as your personal Savior, He has a paved walkway out of the maze of distress. In Psalm 55, we see David experiencing great emotional pain and anguish.  First, let’s consider the context and the circumstances in which David penned this psalm. In Psalm 54:1, David is David has fled from King Saul to keep from being killed. David wrote this psalm after the Ziphites revealed to Saul where David was hiding (1 Sam, 23:19-23). God did not inspire David to describe the details of the situation he was facing, Instead, God inspired David to bring his fear and anguish to Him in prayer “My heart is in anguish within me; terrors of death have fallen upon me…Fear, trembling and horror overwhelm me. Oh, that I had wings like a dove...I would fly…to shelter from my raging tempest.” (Ps.55:4-8). To fly away does not mean that David was a coward, for David a likewise for you and I, it is natural to desire to escape danger and

emotional pain. David wrote in “Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you… But I will trust in You” (vs 22-23).

When feelings of dread, fear, and distress overwhelm you, where do you escape? Common paths of escape are family,  friends, social media or a bookstore to the “self-help me” The reality is that none of us are secure in this world except in Christ. Nothing is certain. We aren’t guaranteed our next meal,  our next heartbeat. Even when we feel secure, we are incredibly fragile and completely dependent on the Lord for every breath. But when we are particularly tempted about the future it is important for us to meditate on these bedrock truths and trust God as David did. I close this article with a personal recommendation, Copy the verses listed below and put them in a location you can see them regularly, in your Bible or on your fridge or 3x5 cards , find a quite place and listen to the Bible (biblegateway.com), if you are unchurched, reunite with a biblical based “faith community” . As you prayerfully meditate on these passages, God will use His word to encourage your heart. It is my prayer that the “God of peace, guides you, comforts you and holds you in His mighty right hand in all things” Amen.

Words for the Soul:

§  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

§  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.  Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:17-18 

§  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

§  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2

§  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

(These are just a few of my personal favorites…seek out others in God’s Scriptures)