or Affirmation 4.0

Meditation — Making space for God. (This is my personal definition and a way to describe my devotional times.)

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But that wasn’t always true. As a young believer and for many years after that, making space for God looked like a check chart. Have I read the next chapter in my Bible? Have I prayed today? Am I ready for Bible study?

Was I really making space for God? Or was I making space to do what I thought a Christian should do? Was I developing my friendship with God or was I merely reading words on a page?

Granted, as a new Christian, my knowledge of the Bible was lacking. My concept of a friendship with God was non-existent. Truly, I did need to learn the big story of the Bible.

What I’m learning is that meditation — reviewing, praying over, and trusting scripture — especially the scriptures that speak the truth of my identity is what is teaching me God’s story.

Meditation is affirmation! Meditation is God’s plan for me to hear his love, his truth speaking deep into my soul. Meditation is building my friendship with God.

Henri Nouwen in his book, The Genesee Diary, says it this way: “There you can be with him who was before you came, who loved you before you could love, and has given you your own self before any comparison was possible. In meditation we can come to the affirmation that we are not created by other people but by God, that we are not judged by how we compare with others but by how we fulfill the will of God.” (italics mine)

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
…
his glory will be seen upon you.”
Isaiah 60:1
“Your people shall all be righteous;
…
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.”
Isaiah 60:21 (italics mine)

God is our very BEST affirm-er!

Affirmation 1.0, click here.
Affirmation 2.0, click here.
Affirmation 3.0, click here.

Copyright: Sue Tell, May 2024