Meditate on this

May the words that come out of my mouth and the musings of my heart meet with Your gracious approval, O Eternal, my Rock, O Eternal, my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 VOICE)

How would you describe the "musings of your heart"? For many of us these are unfulfilled dreams, wishes for things to be a little different than how they are right now, or a change to come that would somehow "kick things into action" in our lives that seem to be at a standstill right now. Did you know the meaning of "musing" is really "meditation"? Did you know the meaning of "meditation" is really the process of spending time in quiet thought? This passage is a prayer - that God would help the one praying it to bring forth words that honor, build up rather than tear down, and reveal the right "meditation" is occurring deep in one's heart.

As I get older, hopefully I am also getting wiser. One of the things I think leads us into developing wisdom in our lives is this process of spending time in quiet thought. I don't always speak what I am thinking, but I do spend a great deal of time in quiet thought. Why? It is the place God helps me sort out all the challenges my brain and emotions are presenting to me in the course of the day. It is the time I am able to consider the various components of the complexity of the situation and see them for what they are - if they are as they seem, or are there other things to be considered before I take a particular course of action. 

I used to hear the word "meditation" and think it requires a yoga mat, incense, and a little mantra of some kind. I have come to appreciate it is merely the musings of my heart, submitted to the counsel of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. The "process" of meditation isn't the location, the "mood" set, or the "position" one's body assumes. It is the ability to bring the thoughts captive for a moment or two, settle the emotions, and allow the "process" of being quiet to sort out the truth from the untruth, the wisest choice from the others. If you are "anti-meditation", think again. God advocates for us to quiet ourselves - if not outwardly, at least inwardly! The quiet is where we hear his voice!

While I don't advocate that kind of "mantra meditation" practiced by some, I do advocate for the quiet place of meditative thought becoming the place God can bring order out of our chaos. It often catches me off-guard to find I didn't even consider coming at something I have been struggling with in a particular manner until I get quiet long enough to "process the issue" with God's help. It is as though I suddenly see the solution to the problem because he begins to help me see the "order" in the problem. Sometimes it isn't that we don't have the solution to the problem, it is that we don't have the right "order" to the problem. We have things out of sequence and therefore, we are not getting at the solution! God is a God of order. Quieting ourselves long enough to allow him to help us bring the issues we are struggling with into "right order" is certainly not wasted time!  Just sayin!