Can you be in the middle of something and not be muddled? As I closed my eyes while riding my stationary bike this week, I thought about one of my favorite vacation activities, working a jigsaw puzzle.
When I opened the 1,000-piece puzzle box, I felt excited. Of course, the first thing was to find the straight edges, then sort like-colors together, maybe even put piles in obvious places. After a while it became a muddled mess.
I’m now half-way through (in the middle) and feel more at one with these animal characters. I pick up a piece and find its partner quickly.
With our topic of meditation this month, we may have to admit that we often find it challenging to focus in the middle long enough to have a meditative thought.
Scottish theologian, Oswald Chambers said,
“Meditation means getting to the middle of a thing; not being like a pebble in the brook letting the water of thought go over us; that is reverie, not meditation.”
He also said,
“The majority of us only attend to the muddle of things, consequently we get spiritual indigestion, the counterpart of physical indigestion.”
We have examples of meditation in Scripture:
“. . . meditate on the Word day and night.” Joshua 1:8
“. . . meditate on God’s unfailing love.” Psalm 48:9
“I meditate on your promises.” Psalm 119:148
“I will meditate on your wondrous works.” Psalm 145:5
A meditation like the one I mentioned in last week’s blog about my thoughts when I looked out at the Gulf Shores may not have seemed so lofty, but it drew me into God’s presence and I believe that’s what we’re after.
As I thought about my jigsaw puzzle, the Lord brought so many applications to mind. I love how he teaches me with things I love to do.
As I thought about why the Lord led me to think about the jigsaw, I realized He often uses things I enjoy to lead my meditative thoughts, thoughts that help me understand how He has made me, how he loves me, and how he wants to uniquely use me.
What do you do that triggers your mind to get into a meditative mode? Mine is my 10-minute ride on the stationary bike. I close my eyes and ask him to guide my thoughts. Sometimes he leads me into a deep train of thought that inspires or challenges me to do something. Other times, he ignites a fresh understanding about myself or others. And yes, there are times I simply have trouble focusing. (Muddle, I guess.)
So, are you muddled or are you able to get in the middle of a time of meditation with the Lord? I’d love to hear your experiences and so would my readers.
~ Joyce ~