Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life with Pastor Dave Cover

Christian Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.

Rachel Zoffness (The Pain Management Workbook)

It’s easy to believe that pain is exclusively located in the body, in the place that hurts. But despite the fact that we experience pain in our bodies, pain is actually constructed by the brain.

[A good example] of the brain’s role in pain comes from a medical phenomenon known as phantom limb pain. This condition arises when an accident survivor loses a limb, then continues to feel terrible pain in the missing limb even after it’s gone.

[Pain happens when] information from [your body’s] sensory receptors travels up your spinal cord to your brain. Your brain then interprets these signals and decides how to respond…

[But] your brain [is what] makes pain.

Put another way, pain is not an accurate indicator of tissue damage. Pain is an interpretation, your brain’s best guesstimate based on all available information.

[But] the pain system, like most systems, is imperfect. Sometimes there are glitches. 

…Pain is not an accurate indicator of tissue damage. You can experience terrible pain in the complete absence of bodily harm… That is: just because something hurts does not necessarily mean your body is in danger of harm. “Hurt” and “harm” are not the same.

This exemplifies an important, and counterintuitive, point: Injury can occur in the absence of pain, and pain can occur in the absence of injury.

[Remember that] “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Chronic Pain Changes the Brain

Just as the brain can become good at piano playing, …it can also become really good at pain. When you have pain for weeks, months, and years, your brain inadvertently “practices” pain.

The longer you practice pain, the more you use the “pain pathway” in your brain. The more you use this pathway, the bigger and stronger it gets. The stronger this pathway gets, the better your brain gets at pain!

…Small [nerve sensory] signals from your body now sound—and feel—huge...

As with any alarm system, there can be false alarms. With chronic pain, your body’s warning system “goes off” even when nothing’s wrong—like when your car alarm goes off even though there’s no break-in. Sometimes the brain sounds the pain alarm when in truth, despite your very real pain and discomfort, you’re not actually [harmed or damaged physically].

The pain you feel isn’t necessarily a signal that you’re in danger of harm.

By teaching the brain that not all pain is dangerous—that hurt and harm are not the same …your brain will learn that “hurt” doesn’t necessarily mean …“harm.”

[But— and this is really important —] when you’re feeling stressed and anxious— your body is tense and tight, you’re having worried thoughts, and you perceive or believe your body is in danger— your cerebral cortex and limbic system (which control thoughts and feelings) send signals to your pain dial, turning it way up. Your brain…generates loud signals [of] PAIN!!!!!!!!!!

[This] pain dial is also controlled by negative emotions like sadness, anger, hopelessness, and frustration.

Research shows that negative emotions like stress, anger, and sadness amplify pain, while positive emotions like relaxation, joy, and happiness can reduce pain. This means that pain is never just physical, it’s also emotional! Therefore, in order to effectively treat pain, we must address thoughts and feelings in addition to physical symptoms.

What we think affects how we feel emotionally affects how we feel physically affects how we act (or behave).

This is where Christian Meditation can be so helpful.

What we think and how we think about ourselves and our circumstances affects our emotions and affects our physical bodies. Our physical body is inseparably connected to our spiritual lives. And our spiritual lives are inseparably connected to our physical bodies.

Too often we get stuck looking at our lives merely horizontally — that is, seeing ourselves in the context of our circumstances. Anxiety, stress, anger, frustration, and hopelessness amplify pain.

But what Christian meditation does is gives us a lens through our biblically guided imagination that enables us to recalibrate our lives vertically — that is, seeing our circumstances and our lives in the context of who God really is and is for US right now in this moment.

Replacing anxiety, stress, anger, frustration, hopelessness, and sadness with the calm confidence and peace and joy and appreciation of the true reality that is the context of our life right now and forever.

Christian meditation activates our powerful imagination. But not in a way where we are imagining something that’s not real, but rather in a way where we are seeing the reality that is unseen but real. 

The Bible is constantly giving us imagery with which to experience unseen spiritual reality more vividly in our lives. Christian meditation takes that biblical imagery and guides our imagination to experience God more vividly. Using our biblically guided imagination to re-integrate our bodies (physical realities) with the spiritual realities of who God is and what it really means that he is present with us and IN us. 

Christian meditation brings the unseen realities of who God really is deep into our soul — deep into our mind and our body.

Speaking specifically of Jesus…

Colossians 1:16-17 (ESV)

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, …all things were created through him and for him. …And in him all things hold together.”

Imagine right now the I AM who created everything that exists everywhere in the entire universe — in the physical world and the spiritual world — right now holding your very atoms together in your body by his presence. Because he wants you to exist in his universe.

Here’s the thing: you’re not imagining something that isn’t but you’re imagining something that IS that you usually imagine isn’t. Too often our imagination creates a false world inside our heads. You’re reversing that by using your imagination to experience reality instead of unreality. We usually don’t think of our lives and bodies according to the reality that every molecule and cell of our body being energized and held together by God.

Then just 10 verses down…

Colossians 1:27(ESV)

…The riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The idea of hope in the New Testament means to live now in a way that is connected to a future reality. A hope of glory is our own bodily resurrection where Christ transforms our body into a body like his glorious body. We saw that in Philippians 3:21 in our last episode. The riches of the glory of this mystery is that right now in this present moment Christ is in you. The one who created everything in this entire universe is in you. The one who holds the entire universe together is in you. This is a glorious mystery we’re not going to understand. But it is an unseen reality that we CAN experience now through our biblically guided imagination. 

Imagine the unseen but very real reality of this — the one through whom all things were created and for whom all things were created and in whom all things hold together being in you. 

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. 

Christian Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.The goal of this podcast — Christian meditation for a bigger life — is to help people living in our distracted digital age to connect with God with your whole being, and sense your embodied connection and togetherness with God in each present moment throughout your day. Christians face different struggles today than even just 20 years ago. A kind of “new normal” that’s not really something normal at all.John Mark Comer (the ruthless elimination of hurry)…This new normal of hurried digital distraction is robbing us of the ability to be present. Present to God. Present to other people. Present to all that is good, beautiful, and true in our world. Even present to our own souls.It’s the first and the last of those that we address in this podcast. Reintegrating our presence with our own souls, including our bodies. And recalibrating our sense and awareness of our embodied presence with God.The Bible teaches that your connection with God is always in the present moment. He’s the I AM. Always in the present tense.Too often we adopt a very unbiblical and unchristian view of our body somehow being separate from, or at least unrelated to, our soul and our eternal connection with God. But the Bible teaches that your body is actually a vital part of your eternal soul.

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Diego Huaman.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. 

Christian Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.

The goal of this podcast — Christian meditation for a bigger life — is to help people living in our distracted digital age to connect with God with your whole being, and sense your embodied connection and togetherness with God in each present moment throughout your day. 

Christians face different struggles today than even just 20 years ago. A kind of “new normal” that’s not really something normal at all.

John Mark Comer (the ruthless elimination of hurry)

…This new normal of hurried digital distraction is robbing us of the ability to be present. Present to God. Present to other people. Present to all that is good, beautiful, and true in our world. Even present to our own souls.

It’s the first and the last of those that we address in this podcast. Reintegrating our presence with our own souls, including our bodies. And recalibrating our sense and awareness of our embodied presence with God.

The Bible teaches that your connection with God is always in the present moment. He’s the I AM. Always in the present tense.

Too often we adopt a very unbiblical and unchristian view of our body somehow being separate from, or at least unrelated to, our soul and our eternal connection with God. But the Bible teaches that your body is actually a vital part of your eternal soul. 

Psalms 139:13-14 (NIV)

“For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

God loves your body because he loves you, and you are your body. You are more than your body but you are not less than your body. God intentionally and carefully created your body as a wonderful work. God created your inmost being. God carefully knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made by God.

God created your body when he created you, and your body is a key part of your eternal relationship with God. But right now we live in a Genesis 3 world — and your body experiences hardship and degeneration and eventually death. But God became a human body in the person of Jesus in order to destroy death in your body forever. 

Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)

“…The Lord Jesus Christ, …by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

When Jesus returns he will transform your body into a resurrected, glorified body like his resurrected, glorified body. Your body will have a resurrection and will be transformed. It will not be a new body. It will be the body God created when he knit you together in your mother’s womb, but transformed into glory and beauty and righteousness and immortality. 

That’s what the New Testament says in Romans 8:23 that “…the redemption of our bodies” is the “hope [for which] we were saved.” This is what the miracles of Jesus signified.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (NIV)

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

So even now your body is part of the eternal you. Your eternal salvation is not your soul being freed from your body but rather your body being freed from sin’s degeneration and death.

Romans 8:11 (NIV)

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

So imagine this – in this very moment his Holy Spirit dwells in your body as his holy temple (1 Cor 6:19). 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? …(20) So glorify God in your body.”

So Christians of all people should embrace their body right now as an eternally important part of who they are.

So one of the things you want to do in this kind of Christian meditation is re-integrate your body with your mind and soul. Sensing your God-created body as an important part of who you are. And recalibrate your body with the reality of God‘s presence in you and around you in every moment. Feeling into your body an awareness of God‘s infinite and intimate and eternal love for you and presence IN you and eternal plan for your body.

And you can do that through envisioning and feeling these truths into your body by using your biblically guided imagination. 

And the more you use your biblically guided imagination to imagine/envision/feel God‘s Spirit and God‘s love in your body — the more you will mentally integrate/connect your body with God’s transcendent spiritual reality in every moment. 

Because the present moment is always the moment when we connect with God. He’s the I AM. He is always in the present tense in the present moment. And the present moment is always where we connect with him. And understanding and experiencing that will change your life!

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. 

Imagine God’s Spirit flowing in and throughout your body like rivers of living water. That’s the very image Jesus gives in John 7:38. Christians Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.John 7:38-39 (NIV)“‘Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”Jesus said something similar when he was speaking to the woman by the well…John 4:14 (NIV)“…The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”Psalms 16:11 (ESV)“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”Imagine the fullness of joy being in the presence of God‘s glory and God‘s beauty and God‘s perfect love for you. Seeing the one who created this entire universe with your own eyes. Resurrected eyes in a resurrected body. Imagine this reality and feel it now into your body. The Bible’s bigger story is that Joy is the ultimate experience when Heaven returns to earth when Jesus comes back — we will have resurrected bodies of glory and power and true spirituality and immortality and we will live in the amazing presence of God forever.Jesus said all of his teaching has Joy as its ultimate goal…John 15:11 (ESV)“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”That’s why in John 17, the night Jesus was arrested, when he is praying for his disciples and he is summing up the purpose of his entire life on earth he says…John 17:13 (NIV)“…So that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”In the final words of the epistle of Jude in the New Testament, Jude says that the ultimate ministry of Jesus in your life is…Jude 1:24 (ESV)“…To present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”Joy is the ultimate reward in the kingdom of heaven. The joy that comes from being fully in the presence of God.Infinite pleasures in the hand of the infinite God. So using your imagination, take his hand now as your greatest possession. Take his hand now as your security. Your calm confidence. Your peace. Your Joy. Feel this into your body.Even now, consciously knowing that you are in God’s presence will begin to replace your worry and fear and anxiety and self-protective reflexes with his joy and the security of his presence. Use your biblically guided imagination to know and experience that he is at your right hand and you are at his right hand in Christ. Knowing right now in this moment that the forever God is your God forever and you are in his presence right now in this moment. He is the fullness of joy right now. In his hand is your greatest pleasure forever.So take hold of his hand right now in your imagination.

Imagine God’s Spirit flowing in and throughout your body like rivers of living water. That’s the very image Jesus gives in John 7:38. Christians Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.

John 7:38-39 (NIV)

“‘Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

Jesus said something similar when he was speaking to the woman by the well…

John 4:14 (NIV)

“…The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Psalms 16:11 (ESV)

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Imagine the fullness of joy being in the presence of God‘s glory and God‘s beauty and God‘s perfect love for you. Seeing the one who created this entire universe with your own eyes. Resurrected eyes in a resurrected body. Imagine this reality and feel it now into your body. 

The Bible’s bigger story is that Joy is the ultimate experience when Heaven returns to earth when Jesus comes back — we will have resurrected bodies of glory and power and true spirituality and immortality and we will live in the amazing presence of God forever.

Jesus said all of his teaching has Joy as its ultimate goal…

John 15:11 (ESV)

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

That’s why in John 17, the night Jesus was arrested, when he is praying for his disciples and he is summing up the purpose of his entire life on earth he says…

John 17:13 (NIV)

“…So that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”

In the final words of the epistle of Jude in the New Testament, Jude says that the ultimate ministry of Jesus in your life is…

Jude 1:24 (ESV)

“…To present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”

Joy is the ultimate reward in the kingdom of heaven. The joy that comes from being fully in the presence of God.

Infinite pleasures in the hand of the infinite God. So using your imagination, take his hand now as your greatest possession. Take his hand now as your security. Your calm confidence. Your peace. Your Joy. Feel this into your body.

Even now, consciously knowing that you are in God’s presence will begin to replace your worry and fear and anxiety and self-protective reflexes with his joy and the security of his presence. Use your biblically guided imagination to know and experience that he is at your right hand and you are at his right hand in Christ. Knowing right now in this moment that the forever God is your God forever and you are in his presence right now in this moment. He is the fullness of joy right now. In his hand is your greatest pleasure forever.

So take hold of his hand right now in your imagination. Enjoy his presence right now and feel it into your body.

What is it that you think you need right now that you don’t really need? Let it go. It’s just giving you anxiety and stress and anger. Let it go and take the better possession of God‘s hand. God‘s presence.

Remind yourself that you are in the presence of the forever God and his presence is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore. Forevermore. The forever God is forever more! More than whatever else you think you need to have to have joy. 

Imagine this. Feel this – sense this reality – into your body right now. And find rest in his presence. Joy in his presence. The security of knowing that in his hand you possess the greatest possession that is forever more than anything else you think you need.

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

Imagine God’s Spirit flowing throughout your body like rivers of living water. That’s the very image Jesus gives in John 7:38. Christians Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.John 7:38-39 (NIV)Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.So imagine the Spirit of God flowing like rivers of living water within your entire body with his Life and Light and Power and Glory. Focus your mind on feeling your whole body from within. Imagine and feel God’s life and light and power and glory and love and presence flowing up and down your spine from your brain to your sacrum, and flowing through your veins throughout your entire body. Imagine your whole body being one with God’s life-giving, light-giving, power. Imagine God focused on you right now with his infinite and intimate love and wisdom. Say quietly to yourself, “The Spirit of God is in me right now. I am calm and confident in his presence and care.” Imagine and feel this reality all throughout your body for a moment. Remember, neurons that fire together wire together! Make it a habit of feeling your body and also feeling God’s presence in your body at the same time.John 7:38-39 (NIV)Whoever believes in me, …rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit…Jesus said something similar when he was speaking to the woman by the well…John 4:14 (NIV)“…The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”So imagine this into your body right now — the Spirit of God being a spring of water in you that is welling up as eternal life.This is an image Jesus wants you to imagine as an unseen reality within you. So imagine this. The Spirit of God flowing within you like rivers of living water. The Spirit of God welling up within you like a spring of water of life. Feel this flowing all through your body. Replacing stress and tension with the transcendent presence of God‘s peace. Replacing anxiety with the calm confidence of God‘s presence. Replacing fear and insecurity with the renewing strength of God‘s eternal life. Replacing anger with the softening assurance of God‘s love. Imagine this.

Imagine God’s Spirit flowing throughout your body like rivers of living water. That’s the very image Jesus gives in John 7:38. Christians Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.

John 7:38-39 (NIV)

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

So imagine the Spirit of God flowing like rivers of living water within your entire body with his Life and Light and Power and Glory. Focus your mind on feeling your whole body from within. Imagine and feel God’s life and light and power and glory and love and presence flowing up and down your spine from your brain to your sacrum, and flowing through your veins throughout your entire body. Imagine your whole body being one with God’s life-giving, light-giving, power. Imagine God focused on you right now with his infinite and intimate love and wisdom. 

Say quietly to yourself, “The Spirit of God is in me right now. I am calm and confident in his presence and care.” Imagine and feel this reality all throughout your body for a moment. 

Remember, neurons that fire together wire together! Make it a habit of feeling your body and also feeling God’s presence in your body at the same time.

John 7:38-39 (NIV)

Whoever believes in me, …rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit…

Jesus said something similar when he was speaking to the woman by the well…

John 4:14 (NIV)

“…The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

So imagine this into your body right now — the Spirit of God being a spring of water in you that is welling up as eternal life.

This is an image Jesus wants you to imagine as an unseen reality within you. So imagine this. The Spirit of God flowing within you like rivers of living water. The Spirit of God welling up within you like a spring of water of life. Feel this flowing all through your body. Replacing stress and tension with the transcendent presence of God‘s peace. Replacing anxiety with the calm confidence of God‘s presence. Replacing fear and insecurity with the renewing strength of God‘s eternal life. Replacing anger with the softening assurance of God‘s love. Imagine this. Feel this. Rest in this. Let go of all anxiety and stress and tension and insecurity and anger and let all of that flow out of you as God’s Spirit flows like rivers of life-giving water and love and God‘s presence throughout your entire body.

The God who created this universe is flowing through your body right now. Welling up to eternal life. Bringing his life into your whole body.  Your whole life. In this present moment. Right now. And in every present moment.

God’s Spirit in you as a spring of water welling up all throughout your body. Bringing God’s power and glory and presence and love and renewal and life that is welling up to eternal life in you. And because his Spirit of life is in you, the forever God is your God forever. Because his Spirit of life is in your body right now, your body will rise even from the dead in power and glory and spiritual ability and immortality. And you can feel this into your body even right now. In this present moment.

God is present. He is in you. And you can trust him. 

Because the forever God is your God forever.

Timestamps:

00:36 - 11:41 Body Meditation

11:54 - 26:05 Bible Meditation: John 7:38

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

An intense awareness of God‘s presence is always the antidote to anxiety and insecurity. Christians Meditation is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. This is a time for you to be alone. And to be alone with God. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.

Your body is part of your connection with God. Your connection/oneness with God is both physical and spiritual. In him you live and move and have your being.

So let’s bring spiritual reality into our meditation by looking at…

Psalms 118:6-7 (NIV)

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?

The LORD is with me; he is my helper. 

This is another example of a Meditation where the Psalmist is mostly talking to himself. This is the kind of meditation God‘s people have been doing for thousands of years. And it’s what we’re doing here. You’re talking to yourself and using your imagination to feel into yourself — in your mind and body — you are imagining the unseen realities of what God’s Spirit (through his word) is telling you is real.

So say this meditation quietly to yourself –

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

An intense awareness of God‘s presence is always the antidote to anxiety and insecurity. The logic of this meditation is that if Yahweh (The Hebrew name for God meaning HE IS) is with me, I do not have to be afraid. Nothing and nobody can do anything to me that doesn’t have to go through him first. And if God allows it then God is in it. And if God is in it he is with me and he is my helper in it.

So remember that phrase we looked at in our last episode whenever you feel anxiety coming on in a situation say to yourself “God is present, he is in this with me, and I can trust him.”

Psalms 121:2 (NIV)

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalms 125:2 (NIV)

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds his people

both now and forevermore.

So always remember God’s promises of never, and forever. 

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)

…God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?”

Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you (Heb 13:5). 

The forever God is your God forever (Rev. 21:3ff). 

Timestamps:

00:44 - 13:16 Body Meditation

13:21 - 24:24 Bible Meditation Psalm 118:6-7

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

Christians Meditation is entering a solitary place. If not physically, then at least let it be so mentally. This is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. This is a time for you to be alone. And to be alone with God. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

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Psalms 27:1 (NIV)

The LORD is my light and my salvation —

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid? 

The logic of the imagery is that if this is the unseen reality your life is in — that Yahweh is YOUR light and YOUR salvation and the stronghold of YOUR life — then what is there to actually be afraid of? Of whom shall you be afraid exactly? Well, there are 1000 things actually. But none of them are stronger than the I AM, who is always surrounding you as your light/life, your salvation, your stronghold/fortress. Which means that none of them are really in control of things. When difficult things are happening to you, the difficult things are not in control of the situation. The One who is your Light is in control. The One who is your Salvation is in control. The One who is the Stronghold of your life is in control. The Almighty LORD of Heaven and Earth is ultimately in power over any other threat to you. There is that phrase — Fear God and you won’t have to fear anything or anyone else. The unseen reality always surrounding your life is that HE IS is your light — your salvation/healing/rescuer — your stronghold/fortress. There is nothing and no one else over you to fear.

Whenever you feel threatened in any way – anxious in any way – feel tension in your body in any way – whenever you sense an overreaction in you to some social or work or family situation — you can say…

“Lord, YOU ARE present, and you are in this, and I can trust you.“

YOU ARE my light/life. YOU ARE my restoration. YOU ARE the stronghold of my life.  

You can rest in a calm confidence. You can replace anxiety with imagining the reality of God‘s presence and that God is in this situation and in this moment with you. You can replace all your multi-layered insecurities and the way they manifest themselves in your life and in your relationships and in your mind and body with the security that the God who created this universe is also 100% with you and focused on you as your light and your rescuer and your fortress. He is the stronghold of your life.

“Lord, you are present, and you are in this, and I can trust you.“

YOU ARE my light/life. YOU ARE my restoration. YOU ARE the stronghold of my life.  

You can just let go of so much anxiety and fear and insecurity and anger and fight or flight central nervous system living. Rest in God’s lordship. Power. Presence. Love. Release your clenched muscles. Let go of the tension. Let your muscles soften.

Timestamps:

00:39 - 14:27 Body Meditation

14:28 - 24:57 Bible Meditation: Psalm 27:1

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

Christians Meditation is entering a solitary place. If not physically, then at least let it be so mentally. This is a quiet time for you to re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind with your body. And re-integrate and re-calibrate your mind and body with God‘s presence with you and in you. This is a time for you to be alone. And to be alone with God. Remember the quote from the apostle Paul in Acts 17:28 – In him you live and move and have your being.

If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that for this podcast.

Psalms 27:1 (NIV)

The LORD is my light and my salvation —

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

This is poetry so it’s loaded with a lot of words of imagery. Appealing to our imagination.

The LORD. Yahweh. HE IS. 

(HE IS) is my light. 

Life. Overcoming darkness and death.

Genesis 1:2-3 (NIV)

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Psalms 36:9 (ESV)

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

2 Tim 1:10 (ESV) 

…Our Savior Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Psalms 56:13 (NIV)

For you have delivered me from death

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

(HE IS) is my salvation. Deliverance. Rescue. Safety. Freedom. Prosperity. Of course what the world calls prosperity is very different than what the Bible calls prosperity. But ultimate salvation in the Bible is never about dying and going to heaven. It’s about living instead of dying. But more than that – it’s about living the life you were meant to live. A life of flourishing. Joy. Freedom. Security. This is the ultimate narrative of the Bible. Heaven is dwelling in the visible presence of God. God is Salvation, and God/heaven is returning to earth and we will have resurrection on a resurrected earth. This is salvation. But the layers of salvation are true for us even now. Even now there is salvation from our emptiness and our chaos and our darkness. Even now there is rescue. Healing. Life. Because the Spirit of God lives in you even now. Even now your body is a temple of his Holy Spirit. You have his life and his joy and his salvation inhabiting your body even now.

(HE IS) is my stronghold. The stronghold of my life. The Hebrew word here for a stronghold means a fortified place. Often these were fortresses on top of a rocky cliff. So same idea as my “rock” and my “fortress” and my “refuge” in other psalms.

Last episode…

Psalm 62:6-7 ESV

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

 …My mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Timestamps:

00:37 - 19:06 Body Meditation

19:12 - 33:14 Bible Meditation: Psalm 27:1

33:17 - 35:19 Prayer

Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.

Follow Dave Cover on Twitter @davecover

Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePod

Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.

This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.