Welcome to the 11th episode of Christian Meditation with Anita Mathias.
Let's begin to detach from the world,
To retreat into the inner sanctuary of the Self,
And to begin to breathe,
Resting in the presence of the God who gave us breath.
It is a blessing to come in,
Out of the wind,
Out of the world of words and distractions,
And to sit quietly,
Just you and the God who made you,
Who loves you far,
Far more than you love a beloved child,
Or pet,
Or parent.
Whatever has happened so far,
In your day or in your life,
Plant it in God's hands.
Lord God,
Bring good out of even the blackest seeds of our lives.
Make them flower,
We leave them in your hands.
Whatever is to come today,
Place it in God's hands.
Protect us,
Lord,
Deliver us from evil,
For now all we have is the present,
This moment,
You here,
You,
Beloved child and creation of God,
Resting in the presence of God.
Close your eyes,
Sit straight or cross-legged if that's comfortable for you,
And breathe.
A deep breath in to the count of five,
And out to the count of five.
Breathe in deeply,
Breathe out fully.
As you relax,
Visualise the love of God,
Your Creator,
Who loves you,
Slowly flowing through your body with your breath.
Stretch your arms upwards,
Then cactus them,
I.
E.
Lift them at right angles to your shoulders,
And stretch them slightly backwards.
Raise your shoulders to your ears,
Slowly roll them clockwise,
Anti-clockwise,
Repeat.
Ball your fists,
Tense your fingers,
Riddle them outwards like a starburst.
Send your breath towards your belly,
Place your hand there as you breathe deeply.
Feel your stomach rise and fall,
Exhale deeply,
Through to your hips and down to your toes.
Clench them,
Wriggle them.
Breathe in as deeply as you can,
Perhaps to the count of five,
Breathe out completely.
Try another couple of whole-body inhales and exhales,
From your toes to your nose.
So,
Matthew records,
Then Jesus got into the boat,
And his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake,
So that the waves swept over the boat.
But Jesus was sleeping.
The disciples went and woke him,
Saying,
Lord,
Save us,
We are going to drown!
He replied,
You of little faith,
Why are you so afraid?
Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves,
And it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked,
What kind of man is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him.
So,
Jesus,
A charismatic carpenter,
Keeps teaching Peter,
A fisherman,
A man at the sea,
The same lesson,
Again and again,
That he,
Jesus,
Knew the absolute best way to do everything,
Including fishing.
When Peter had laboured all night and caught nothing,
Jesus tells him to cast his nets on the right side,
And they were unable to haul in the bountiful catch.
Jesus walked on the waters of a lake,
And calm sea storms which raged while he slept in the boat.
Jesus showed off his mastery over their profession,
Showing them that the very cleverest thing they could do,
Always,
Was to check in with him for his guidance and direction.
When we feel hard-pressed and incompetent,
We desperately ask Jesus for help,
And he can graciously add a one before all our zeros.
However,
When we feel competent,
Educated,
Experienced or gifted,
It's even more crucial to not rely on these limited gifts,
But to ask Jesus to take the wheel,
To show us the best way to do things and to bless them.
Then he can add zeros after our one talent,
Transforming it into something with exponential blessing for us and for the world.
Avoid the folly of doing anything without checking in with Jesus.
Keep asking,
Jesus,
Do I need to be doing this at all?
And,
Please show me the best way to do it.
In the most successful thing I've ever done,
Co-founding a small business which has wholly supported our family for the last 13 years,
I've had to rely on God's guidance because I lacked the training,
Education,
Skills or temperament for it,
And God added a one before my zeros and blessed it.
Conversely,
I've been relatively unsuccessful in the one thing I had the training,
Education,
Some talent and a deep love for,
Namely,
Writing,
Because I've done it to my own strength,
Often without even thinking of asking God for guidance or direction and without surrender.
But since God is still writing the story of my life,
It's not too late to train myself to ask God for guidance and blessing on my writing.
God gives us gifts of good genes,
Education,
Opportunity or resources,
But everything we have is God's and things can change in a moment.
So,
The safest thing we can do is to surrender everything we have to God and to continually ask him how to do things his way,
So he can supernaturally,
Exponentially touch,
Bless and multiply the fruits of our labour.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
Thank you.
