The Scripture calls on us to “be still” and draw our attention to knowing God (Psalm 46:10). Just a couple of Psalms later, we also read, “O God, we meditate on your unfailing love” (Psalm 48:9). The worship song by Chris Tomlin encourages us in this way as well singing, “In the secret, in the quiet place. In the stillness, you are there. In the secret, in the quiet hour, I wait, only for you, ‘cause I want to know you more.” Celtic Christian tradition employs the image of the mountain top to teach that our spiritual journey is strengthened when we go to a “thin place” where the distance between heaven and earth is shortest, and there to meditate on God’s love and presence in our lives.
So, where do you go for that quiet, still, place of meditation on the Lord’s presence?
Such a “thin place” can be anywhere: in the car/train/plane/bus on the daily commute to work; with coffee in hand first thing in the morning; on a walk in the rain or snow or sunshine; at a table in a coffee shop; on the beach; on a mountain trail; walking in the neighborhood or deep in the woods; a formal retreat or a daily retreat. The quiet place can happen anywhere where we intentionally sit in the Lord’s presence and draw our attention to him.
This quiet includes the reading of the Bible and perhaps that reading segues to the reading of other works for spiritual nourishment and still others “just for fun.” Such reading will bring joy to our souls and challenge our thinking and even move us to tears. We need such reading in our lives because we are not, any single one of us, able to move through the variety of life’s stages, seasons, and struggles on our own. We need companions for the mind and heart to nurture our inner selves so that we are equipped for living our outer selves every day. As 19th Century pastor Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”
We are encouraged throughout our life’s pilgrimage by the lives of others as they live their faith; and their writing gives us a chance to receive their words, wisdom, warnings, and wonderings to consider as we walk.
So, where do you go for that quiet, still, place of meditation on the Lord’s presence?
For this new year, plan on a regular stop in such a “thin place” to envision the year, its goals, its needs, its people, and your impact on each one of them!
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench