In our final segment of our Biblical Meditation Series, J'Non shares some of her experiences with biblical meditation, how to "stack" passages, and practical ways to further engage with the scriptures through physical movement.
Scriptures used in this week’s video: Psalm 17, Ephesians 6
Scriptures used in this week’s study guide: Psalm 119:11, Matthew 13:44
Hey, J’Non here. Welcome back to Stir Devotion. I dearly hope that by now, you are seeing some of the benefits to the practice of biblical meditation. If you have missed the last couple of weeks’ content, I hope you will go back to catch up because this ridiculously easy practice is a complete game changer. In this video, I want to share part of my own experience with biblical meditation for two reasons:
I love talking about this.
I hope that you will be inspired to either dive in if you haven't already, or to keep going, even if you have not seen the big impacts yet. Definitely worth it.
My Introduction to the 21-Day Challenge
When I received the challenge to practice biblical meditation for 21 days, it occurred to me that in my whole life as a Christian, I had never done this. Sure, I had mentally meditated on scripture, and talked about it with God or with others, but I had never consistently spoken it aloud for such an extended period. I’d never been self-aware enough to do that for the purpose of processing and fully consuming it over many days with the intention that the word of God would rewire my neural networks. This was new.
It’s more unusual, but I first started with a longer passage—Psalm 17. There were various reasons that this Psalm really spoke to me during a time of interpersonal conflict, and I was drawn to the layers of it. I have grown to love this passage dearly, after reading it aloud for over a month, especially the last verse.
Practical Steps I Took to Enhance the Experience
I’m very tactile and visual, and I, like so many others, learn best when I am physically engaged with multiple senses. So, my first step in biblical meditation was to handwrite Psalm 17 in my most readable font.
I chose loose-leaf paper because I wanted to slip it in the clear front cover of the binder that I use for projects this year and that worked great for me, because even when my binder was closed, I still had the visual reminder on the front, and if I had a spare few minutes, I could re-read my passage again.
I also wanted it to be mobile. I wanted to take that single sheet out, and physically walk with it, and I did! Taking a morning walk in the woods while meditating has been a great way to take 15 minutes out of my morning to re-center. Now, if I go on a solitary walk without my meditation passages, I genuinely feel like something is missing!
I did not limit myself to one time per day or a certain number of minutes, but tried other times as well: at night before bed; while waiting in the car for the grocery pickup. Whatever the time, I always made myself re-read a section if I noticed that I had not focused on the meaning of the words I’d just read.
How I Knew It Was Beginning to Work
I found that certain parts of that passage would start popping into my head when dealing with difficult situations, or when someone spoke to me in a way that would ordinarily bring on an old, unhealthy emotional response. God was speaking His words into me when I needed them most, and I couldn’t believe how simple this was.
Stacking a New Challenge
When I finally reached the end of my meditation challenge (21 days), I really didn’t want to completely let go of the passage I started with, so I stacked a new passage to the previous one and kept going. Then I added a third, fourth and fifth passage that all were thematically linked. (At least they were linked by my need for them in order to stand strong and then begin to thrive through some really difficult life challenges.) All the passages pointed me toward God as the source for all my strength, my protection, my vindication, and also my place of rest when there were many external reasons I could have been stressed and panicking.
Physically Engaging with the Scriptures
One of the later passages in the stack was the Armor of God in Ephesians 6. For this one, I had a hard time connecting with the armor because I don’t have a physical experience to compare it to. So, in order for me to better visualize each component, I started to physically engage to connect more senses and help me to understand.
When the passage says, “Gird your waist with truth,” I used my hands to wrap around, visualizing that truth. I thought about how this part of our bodies is a structural foundation for everything, including our mobility. If we physically have issues with our hips and sacrum, it makes walking or sitting so much harder! Truth is like that, too: If we wrap ourselves with God’s truth, it gives us a protecting layer around our very foundation. With God’s truth supporting us, we can move forward. If instead we wrap ourselves in lies, no matter how they are mixed in with truth, everything else we try to balance on that will ultimately fail. Lies can be very powerful, but their power is a destructive force. They have no strength on which to build.
When the passage says, “put on the breastplate of righteousness,” I mime this, and think of all that is protected by this. My heart, my lungs—my vitality. Without God protecting—surrounding my heart—I would be so vulnerable to temptation.
When the passage says “taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” and I take the protective stance of holding a shield with my left arm, it is a powerful way to recognize what faith does for me and how I use it as a protection against targeted attacks intended to destroy me, not physically, but spiritually.
I could go on! The point is that physically moving with certain passages of scripture can help deepen our understanding of them. If the scripture says, “Lift your eyes,” do that. If it says, “Raise your hands up to the Lord,” do that. If it feels weird, ask yourself why you have that feeling and test where it comes from, because if it’s merely a cultural thing, remember: This is not a show for other people, it’s a moment between you and God—no one else.
A Tool for All Situations
Biblical meditation has been so valuable to me, and is also so easy, that I will admit I’m pretty evangelical about it. I see applications for it everywhere. Trouble with a coworker? Biblical meditation. Broke your ankle? Definitely write a meditation passage on your cast. Hurt feelings? Let’s put some Biblical meditation on that.
I’ve seen God work powerfully in me to change my perspectives: from confusion to clarity, to deepening my understanding of and therefore my relationship with my loving and powerful Dad, to bring me inexplicable joy amidst circumstances where joy doesn’t even make sense.
Will the Church Embrace Meditation on a Larger Scale?
After experiencing so much on an individual level, I cannot help but wonder: What would happen if the entire Body of Christ, from all over the world, all different organizations or home churches, in isolation, started practicing biblical meditation? I don’t know, but I would love to find out what God could do with us if we were all deeply tuned in to His voice at the same time.
Even if that never happens on a large scale—even if no one else cares or chooses to take this gift from the hand of God when it’s being held out to us all—I have to keep choosing to take it. I hope you will, too. And, if you do, please reach out, because I want to know how it is changing your story.
May the Lord bless you mightily with this gift, and may He encourage, strengthen, and grow you for the rest of your journey as you follow Jesus! I’m with you, sister! Let’s do this!
