Reflection*
This Christ-Centred Mindfulness exercise helps you focus on Christ and be resilient even in the middle of life’s troubles.
Sit quietly and read Matthew 14.25-33, ‘Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
Imagine you are sitting in a boat on the water. The waves around you gently rock your boat up and down. This is just like life which comes with ups and downs. Usually, we can ride out the waves, and they pass in their own time without stressing us too much.
Now, I want you to think about something that has upset you lately. Put yourself back into the place when this happened. What were you thinking about? How did your body react to the situation? Let all these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings come. Don’t push them away. Let them be there, and be curious and observe what is happening inside you.
IT WILL PASS
I want you to reassure yourself that problems and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are like waves, they come and go in their own time. Eventually, they will start to get more manageable, and their intensity will reduce. It is the same as the inevitability of reaching the peak of a wave and then coming down the other side.
BE STILL
Take a deep breath in and breathe slowly out again. As you do this, try to imagine you are relaxing your body around the feelings you are having. Keep doing this until you feel calm.
FOCUS
When we are having problems and pain in our life, we can become afraid. We get overwhelmed by the size of the problem or the intensity of our feelings. Jesus wants us to focus on him and not the size of the waves around us. In your mind, I want you to imagine he is asking you to step outside your boat and walk towards him. He invites you to trust him, and not be afraid. To focus on him and not your problems.
A short contemplative exercise and time for prayer
You might like to say a quiet prayer in response to this exercise. I encourage you to give your problem over to Christ and trust him with it.
Jesus, help us to focus on you,
And remember that you are with us,
And we can trust you with our worry, pain and problems.
Give us your peace.
Amen.
*In this series, each day’s devotion will be structured a little differently than our usual Daily Bible devotions, as Dr Thompson offers a Bible passage for reflection, and teaches us practical contemplative exercises that can assist with finding peace when everything around us seems difficult and hopeless.