January 12

 ‘When they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples.’ – Mark 4:34

                Oswald Chamber’s states that we must get past our own conceit in coming into a relationship with God.  This is a slow process. We must recognize that we do not fully know ourselves. In fact, only God knows us fully. In our latent conceit, we assume that there is nothing left to know about ourselves, but this is simply not true.

                For what purpose does God give us trials if not to learn to know ourselves? I don’t think that Christians are given ‘credit’ for suffering and we know through Christ’s Atonement for our sins that ‘credit’ is not the basis of our admittance to Heaven. No, God wants us to know who we are. We are His creation and He loves every facet of us and wants us to do the same. Thus, He gives us opportunities for growth so that we might slowly paint a complete picture of the self.

                However, trials are wasted opportunities if we do not take time to dwell on them, quietly, in the presence of God alone. There is a saying I like to use with my kids every now and then: ‘Mistakes are only failures if a lesson is not learned’. We must take time to learn from our failures, and successes for that matter, in order to gradually bring our self into focus as God intends.

                This is why silent prayer and meditation are important throughout the day. A short trip in the car alone is a good opportunity for example. The next time you have to drive across town by yourself, turn the radio off and spend time in meditation with Christ. You may be surprised by what you hear.

                However, it is important to recognize that in our solitude, we are still our own worst enemy and our capacity for conceit is great. Without prayer for humility, our meditation can easily turn toward denial, thus making any worthwhile lesson impossible.

My suggestion for getting around this is to always point the finger at myself first when in meditation. While it is true that all things are not our fault, nor are all things centered on us, I find this to be a helpful exercise. I spend time reflecting about my own behavior and what I might have done differently before stepping back and looking at the big picture of a situation. This exercise of introspection has helped me to grow immensely in the past couple of years.

Most importantly is the silence. The Bible tells us to ‘Be still and know that I am God’. We cannot hear God if we are not still. Stillness does not simply imply physical quiet either. We must quiet our thoughts as well. When in meditation, limit your distracting thoughts. Make this a time free from to do lists and the stresses of the day. Let your soul be silent, and you will find that God’s lessons for you are undeniable.