Give it All to Jesus: Meditation 1

Today is the beginning of our meditation journey together. Please read the base post that I've provided the link for in the first sentence if you haven't done so already. My meditations will focus on God's Word, as the Holy Bible tells us in Joshua 1:8 to, "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." Our Scriptures, today, are from the New Living Translation Bible.

Listen to Meditation 1.

Do you have your water and tissues nearby? Is your journal ready for today's entry? Are you comfy? Good. It's time to start your calm, relaxing music/sounds if you choose to use any. 

Let's begin with putting our praying hands near our hearts, closing our eyes, and breathing slowly in and out, repeating our Heavenly Father's name as we inhale and exhale - YH (inhale) WH (exhale). Slow, relaxing breaths involve inflating the stomach as we breathe in and deflating it as we breathe out. Allow the shoulders to relax and rise as we breathe in and to lower as we breathe out. Now, while keeping our eyes closed, let's breathe in and out through our nose, repeating the Lord's name in our minds as we ground ourselves in His loving presence. Remember to let the shoulders rise and fall and to let the stomach inflate and deflate as we breathe in and out.

image courtesy of Brandable Box via Unsplash

Over the years, we have allowed so many negatives to move into our hearts and minds. Today, as your eyes remain closed and praying hands stay near your heart, I want you to imagine a box. This is a moving box. You're going to fill up that box with all the negatives that weigh you down. Fear, worry, hate, self-pity, gossip, self-righteousness, unforgiveness, vengeance, sadness - whatever it is, throw it all into the box. Take a few moments to let God tell you what you need to let go of, what you need to "move out". Continue to breathe His name in and out.

It's okay to let go of these negatives; that's not who you are. In Isaiah 41:13, God says, "For I hold you by your right hand - I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.'" Reach your hand out for a few seconds. Do you feel His hand in yours? Let Him guide you in finding those negatives.

Place your praying hands near your heart once more. Focus on breathing, letting your tummy inflate and deflate, keeping your body relaxed, repeating YH-WH as you breathe in and out. With each inhale, we're taking in positive energy. We're exhaling the negative energy. Continue the breathing exercise 5 more times, blowing out as you exhale now - like blowing out candles. We're making sure to blow out all those negatives. As you exhale, speak or think a negative that you're releasing to make room for that positive. "I'm releasing unforgiveness, worry, and doubt." As you inhale, speak or think a positive that you want in your life. "I'm going to be forgiving as God has forgiven me. I'm going to have peace because that is what God wants for me. I'm going to have confidence and trust that God is taking care of all my problems in His perfect timing; He is never early, never late." Breathe that positive thought deep into your lungs. Blow out the negatives as you empty your lungs.

Now, close the box full of negatives. Envision Jesus standing in front of you, and hand the box over to Him. He is waiting to take away all of those negatives. You wonder why He would want your box of negatives, don't you? Because that's what He died on the cross for. He paid the price for our sins, our burdens, our struggles, our negatives. He will take them and cast them away. Because He wants us to live a joyful life - not a negative life. Jesus expresses His desire to help us in Matthew 11:28-30 when He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” He has given you permission to turn all these negative burdens over to Him. 

Now, let's continue with Philippians 4:8 from Apostle Paul - "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

So, let's fill our hearts and minds with Christlike love. What does that look like? Forgiveness, God's righteousness, trusting God, empathy for others, courage, confidence, happiness - the opposite of whatever you placed in your negative moving box and gave to Jesus. When we replace those negatives with positives, there's no room for the negatives to return. The negatives will try to come back. And more negatives may surface. But we will "box" them up and give them to Jesus, and He will take them away for us. Focus on breathing again - breathe in YH, breathe out WH. Repeat a few more times. 

It's time to slowly open your eyes. Place your hands on your lap. Tap each finger on your lap, 1 at a time. God is still near, helping you "box up" and remove those negative emotions from your life. You're safe and relaxed. You will sleep better if it's bedtime. Or you will have renewed energy to finish your daily routine.

It's now time to get a drink of water and begin journaling.

When journaling today:

1. Write down all the negative thoughts and emotions you want to give to Jesus.
2. Next write down all the positive thoughts and emotions that you want to replace those negative ones with so those don't have room to move back in. 😄
3. Work on replacing these negatives with positives, one or two at a time, until the positive replacements have a strong foothold. Then move on to one or two more. This is a journey and will take time. All change takes time. Negatives are stubborn. But you can do it. You are stronger than you realize, because you have a Heavenly Father who is helping you. Once you get past the first few, it will become easier. And most of our meditations are going to be about moving from negative to positive, which will help you along the way. 
4. Write down the Bible verses from this meditation as reminders that the Holy Spirit, God and Jesus are with you every step of the way, helping you succeed and prosper on this journey of gaining positivity in your life. You're never alone.
5. Revisit this page in your journal often to reflect and to add new negatives you need to get rid of and positives you want to make you prosperous in Christ's love.

I pray for your success in the removal of negatives so the positives will have room to move in. 

May God bless you on this journey. Take care and find the peace that you deserve. Radiate love, and sparkle, my sisters in Christ.

Patricia