Garden of Discipline: Meditation, He Still Speaks
Meditation is a subject that can feel so theoretical that it almost seems imaginary. We are physical creatures who like to see, touch, smell things to believe in them. We often distrust experiences that don’t have visible evidence to support them. In the final installment of the Harry Potter saga, Harry is having what might be called an out-of-body experience and he asks his mentor, Dumbledore, if it is really happening or if it is just in his head. The senior wizard replies, “Of course it is happening inside your head Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
The life of faith, of having a relationship with an invisible God, means choosing to believe in something you can’t touch. As Hebrews 11:11 puts it, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” But the beautiful thing about this relationship is that as we walk through life with God, we begin to see more and more evidence that He is there, working in, around and through us.
One of my favorite passages in the Chronicles of Narnia (there’s one in each book that makes me cry every time), is a conversation between Aslan and the boy Shasta in The House and His Boy. This lad grew up far away from Narnia and knows very little about it. He is sent on a perilous journey with almost no direction, on a horse that he doesn’t know how to steer. After walking for a long time, gradually gaining altitude, the boy and horse are completely encompassed in a dense fog. Shasta can see nothing and can only hope that the horse will carry him to safety on the other side of the mountains. In this almost dreamlike state, Shasta becomes aware of a presence in the fog beside him. He can hear breathing that somehow seems to indicate a large creature. Fear grips him until he can stand the tension no longer and he speaks to the Unseen. The surprise walking companion is Aslan, though Shasta doesn’t know that until much later. As they continue on, while remaining hidden, Aslan explains many of the things that Shasta and his companions have suffered along their journey. Through this conversation, the boy begins to see that nothing was random and that this very Presence was with them all the time. Gradually the fog lifts until Shasta can see the Lion clearly.
I love this scene so much because, as a child, growing up in the Church, my faith journey has been like a long, long walk where I gradually saw God and heard His voice more and more clearly. I hope and pray that as I age, these senses will only get sharper even as my physical senses may dull with time.
In my life, there have been many periods of greater awareness and sensitivity. Often these came during times of sorrow. C.S. Lewis famously said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” I am a huge Lewis fan, but I don’t actually agree with his conclusion. I think it’s my spirit that is more sensitive to the voice of God, rather than His voice being louder when I’m hurting. My level of need for Him has increased, not His volume or steadfast love, which endures forever (Psalm 139, among many). Through the faithfulness of God, my ears are more finely tuned to His voice in my darkest hours.
Like Aslan, God often chooses to remain hidden. But that does not stop Him from instructing His children, enlightening their minds and illuminating their paths. He created all that we see and have yet to discover by the power of His Word and He hasn’t stopped speaking. We have only to listen. Really listen, with the intent to obey.
Listening to God is a bit like how we receive other stimulus in our lives. Our five senses provide information about our surroundings that allow us to move through our physical life day by day. A steak dinner can be experienced in different ways through sight, smell, sound, feel and taste. Each sense adds to the fullness of the enjoyment of the meal. Similarly, there are different ways to hear the voice of God through meditation. We can read His written word while intentionally listening for what He is saying to us individually. We can enjoy the beauty of creation while looking for what it can teach us about God’s character (Romans 1:20). We can hear His voice through the words of His children. I’ve experienced the power of friends who have been prophetically gifted to share a personal message for another.
The same God who spoke Creation into reality, is still at work today. His invitation to live in communion with Him, to walk through your brightest days and darkest nights with a Heavenly Father who loves you unconditionally and is closer than your next breath, has not ended. You can hear His voice today.
Beware, though. Just as light transforms all that it touches, the voice of Holy God will transform you. This is the heart of the issue. God loves you exactly as you are AND He loves you so much that He won’t leave you as you are. When Michelangelo was asked about his most famous sculpture, he said that he saw David in the stone and cut away everything that was not David. God sees you as He designed you to be. Spending time with your Creator, listening to His thoughts and priorities and heart for the world will gradually make you into the person He made you to be. And that person will look more and more like Jesus.
““Inner fellowship of this kind transforms the inner personality. We cannot burn the eternal flame of the inner sanctuary and remain the same, for the Divine Fire will consume everything that is impure…everything that is foreign to his way we will have to let go. No, not “have to” but “want to,” for our desires and aspirations will be more and more conformed to his way. Increasingly, everything within us will swing like a needle to the polestar of the Spirit.” ”
