Learning to watch God’s unfolding plans in the world, all over the world, is a spiritual skill - an art or a science. The more we study Scripture, and the more we talk about Scripture with others who study it, the better we become at noticing God.
Our senses become more finely attuned to detecting God as we spend more time alone, in silent prayer and meditation: not our five physical senses, but the ability of our hearts and minds to identify God’s work.
While Jesus was doing His earthly ministry, He often spent times in “solitary places” (Mark 1:35, 6:32) or “desolate places” to meditate. He did this, in part, to be a role model for us - to show us the importance of these quiet times.
After His ascension (Acts 1:9), things are different: Jesus seems to be on the move all the time. As Greg Finke writes:
Jesus is on a mission. He is on a grand adventure to redeem and restore human lives to the kingdom of his Father. This is nothing new. Ever since he broke out of the tomb on Easter Sunday, Jesus has been on the loose, pursuing his redemptive mission, messing with people, ripening people, preparing people to be drawn back to the Father he loves. It’s what he does.
We, however, are ordinary flesh-and-blood human beings. We need those quiet times - and they need to be truly quiet. Not only do we need to turn of the radio and the cell phone, but we need to turn off the endless stream of thoughts, concerns, and desires which course through our minds.
Our meditation can take different forms. Sometimes it includes remembering or processing past events, as in Psalm 143:
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
God’s plan is unfolding twenty-four hours a day, all over the world. In meditation, we can do a slow motion replay of God’s work, because our minds can’t move as fast as His. We can notice his activity by remembering what He’s done - for us or for others - in the past.
As we reflect both on God’s written word and on His actions, we can synthesize the two, and He blesses us with a grander view and a deeper insight, as in Psalm 119:
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
Jesus is in constant motion, doing amazing things. But we’ll miss much of His action if we don’t take the time to study His word together, and spend time in quiet meditation alone.
