Meditation: Be still and know (Psalm 46)

Despite all the terrible things you read in your news,
despite the wars and shameful things you do to each other,
despite the earthquakes and storms, droughts and famines
despite even your abuse of each other and my earth ...

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When things fail in your home, when stress and anger
dominate love and gentleness,
have faith. Be strong: even in your pain
I hold you, cherish you, prune and nurture you, and

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you become ill - or someone you need becomes ill

empty yourself, come to me, I wait to fill your emptiness,
to heal and console, to comfort and calm, and guide you
from the blind uncaring city to the quiet pool of Siloam in the ruins of David's old city.

   All will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you see people doing unspeakable things to each other, 

feel moments of terror and unthinking anger,
days, months, years of starvation and illness,
when death and disease is all around, even then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you see darkness in the actions of angry people

darkness in the eye of the storm, when you see
darkness buried in the earthquake
and fleeing children dead upon the shore, even then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When people put their own power before the people I created

I will melt their guns and disperse their gases. 

I will breach their fantasy of unscalable ramparts 

and destroy all their dreams of security and safety.

   All will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you damage my earth and trees and birds and fish,

when storms destroy your cities and drought lays waste your crops,
when the air turns brown and the horizon disappears,
when the waters rise and your security is shattered, come to me, then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

Suggestions for meditation

Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.

What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the word GOD. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen. 

In my insights blog last week I suggested another way my wife used this psalm for meditation when she ran retreats.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.