How contemplative are you?

David Bowman May 26, 2021

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I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. (CSB) ~Psalm 119:15

How contemplative are you? The person who gives focused thought and reflection to his or her life lives, learns, adjusts, and improves going forward. Life is less about what happens to us than what happens in us. Experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is. These are common truths unevenly applied.

Daily reflection is important for forward progress. Keeping a journal is helpful. I schedule journal entries for morning, noon, and night. In the morning, I write how I want my day to go. I note what is before me and how I plan to go about my work.

I check in just before noon to note how things are going and what adjustments are required. In the evening, I look back and see what progress I made, what had to be rescheduled, and what I learned from it all.

Starting the day with God and the Bible, we find words to guide our contemplation throughout the day. The psalmist writes in verse 18, "Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction." We get to choose what enters our minds and shapes our thoughts. The Bible is superior to news or entertainment. It endures forever. Those change by the hour.

One of the entries in my journal each morning is the Bible verse or verses that stood out to me that day. It is amazing how often God and his words of truth and life are perfectly in sync with my experience.

If as Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living," the examined life must be the goal. Meditating on the truth and goodness of the Bible and reflecting on the experiences of life moves us in the right direction as we make necessary course corrections.

• What words of God will you meditate on today?
• How will you reflect on what happens to you and what happens in you?
• How will you go about making necessary course corrections?

Our Father, give me ears to hear what you are saying to me through my daily Bible readings. Sink your truth deep into my heart. May your will and your ways guide me in all I think, do, and say. Teach me through the wins and losses, the forward progress and the inevitable delays of my days. Amen.

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David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More »

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