Today's meditation is for anyone who is feeling stressed or anxious.
These feelings of stress and anxiousness come to us all from time to time.
And so today I want to lead us in a guided meditation to present ourselves to God and release that anxiety.
First come to your comfortable seated position.
Feel the chair supporting your body.
Feel it on your back.
Feel it on the underside of your legs.
Maybe even feel it on your calves.
Notice how your feet are flat on the ground.
And take a moment to acknowledge that you are in God's presence.
You are here because you know that in God's presence there is fullness of joy.
I want you to start to notice your breath.
And if at any point during this meditation you find your mind wandering,
Acknowledge it and come back to your breath.
I want you to start breathing in a rhythmic manner.
Start breathing in and count to four.
And out and count to four.
We'll do that a few times.
This time I want you to add a little hold at the end of your in-breath.
So we'll hold for four between the inhale and the exhale.
Let's do in and hold and out and count to four.
And out and in and hold and out.
One more time.
You should already begin to feel your body finding some peace.
There is a Bible verse which I want to read.
It is Philippians verse four verses six and seven.
Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.
And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guide your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As I read those words again just let the words flow into your heart.
Breathe them in.
Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.
And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guide your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As we think about these verses it starts with a command do not be anxious about anything.
The reason that we can hold on to these words and choose to not be anxious is not because we can rely on our own selves.
It's not because everything will be easy.
It's because we have a good God who cares for us.
We have a powerful God who is looking out for us.
We can fully trust in a good God who knows everything that we need.
He knows every word that will come from our mouths,
Every prayer that we bring before we even pray it.
And so we can choose not to be anxious.
In everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.
We can bring the big things,
We can bring the small things to God.
We can bring the things which we find unfair,
The things that we think why are you doing this God?
We can bring them with thanksgiving to God.
And as we do that God's peace will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
If you've selected this guided meditation to listen to today,
You may be feeling specific anxieties,
Specific stresses.
I'd like you to bring to mind now as we turn to prayer,
What it is that is causing you anxiety.
It may be a ruptured relationship,
It may be a difficult workplace,
It may be loneliness,
A sense of lostness or meaninglessness,
Or just that you've got a lot on and you can't keep spinning all the plates by yourselves.
Whatever it is,
I want you to bring that to mind now.
I want you to visualize packing all those things that stress you,
All those things that bring anxiety,
I want you to wrap them in a big cloth.
Put them in the middle of a cloth in your mind,
Wrap them up,
Take the four corners.
Take the opposite corners first,
Then the other pair of opposite corners,
And wrap them up and present them to God.
Bring them to the foot of the cross and give them over to God.
Say,
I present these things that are burdening me to you God.
I pray that you would guide me in knowing how to deal with these situations.
Thank you that I can trust in you completely.
And Father,
I thank you for all your blessings.
To me,
I thank you that you have given me these responsibilities,
These pressures to form me more and more like you.
Tell God where you find them difficult,
And ask him for guidance.
And as you present your bundle of anxieties to God,
I want you to visualize Jesus giving you his peace.
If your hands are not open,
Why not turn them up in a posture of receiving,
And receive peace from God.
Thank God that his peace will guard your heart,
And his peace will guard your mind.
And if there is anything that you feel God is saying to you right now,
Bring it to the forefront of your mind.
Be sure to thank him for speaking to you.
And if you don't feel anything particular,
Just thank God for this time of rest in his presence.
Just come back to your breath.
The same in and out pattern.
In for four.
And hold.
And in.
And as you start to bring your attention back to your body,
Back to your surroundings,
Give God thanks for his peace.
And know that you can carry that peace with you.
That peace which transcends all understanding.
With you throughout the rest of your day.
God's peace is a gift.
It's not a reward.
It is yours to keep.
It is yours to receive.
It is yours to keep returning to.
If you find yourself stressed or anxious,
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind these verses,
And to remind you that you can carry God's peace with you in your heart,
Wherever you go.
Amen.
