Excitement and adventure never seem to be far from our family, especially when we travel. Once, when our boys were younger, we traveled to Fiji and instead of enjoying the beautiful white sand beaches and crystal clear waters, we found ourselves caught in the middle of a Category 2 cyclone.
The amazing Fijian people where we were staying took care of us and made sure we were safe in our little Fijian Bures where we sat and waited out the 24 hours it took for the storm to pass. All day and all night we listened to the howling wind and rain, which sounded like a 747 aircraft directly above our heads. It didn’t subside – even for a minute. All night we listened to the crashing of falling trees and debris being thrashed all around the island.
The next morning, when it was over, we emerged to clear blue skies, but found complete devastation on the island. We talked to a family staying in a nearby bure and they told us how they had to be evacuated during the night.
The wind was so powerful that it was pushing the front door of their bure open and the sea water was being blown into the bure, and causing it to flood. They told us how when the Fijians came to rescue them, it took five big, strong Fijian men to push against the door to hold it closed so that the family could prepare to evacuate. Such was the force of the wind.
Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:6 “when you pray, go into your room and close the door”. He knows there is power in closing the door.
Yes, there is a power in finding a quiet place and closing the door to meditate and be with God. But I want to talk about the power there is in meditation when we close the door of our mind.
Meditation allows us to close the door of our mind and shut out all our thoughts, worries, troubles, cares, stress, anxiety, hurt, disappointment, discouragement and problems that we face.
It is only in the stillness of having closed the door of our mind that our soul can enter through the door, (which is Jesus – John 10:9) into God’s presence. On the other side of that door is everything we need; peace, hope, healing, strength, joy, comfort, relief from stress and anxiety and so much more.
Jesus tells us that the door to “life” is small and narrow (Matt 7:14). It is meant to be that way as we are not meant to take anything through the door but ourselves; no baggage; no problems, no stress or worries, none of the things we hold onto; just ourselves. We must let go of everything if we are going to enter through the small door to life.
You can experience this for yourself today by finding a quiet place and closing the (physical) door. As you begin to meditate on God, consciously choose to close the door of your mind, shutting out everything that is worrying you and causing you stress. Then let your soul enter through the door to God’s presence where you will find peace, hope, joy, freedom, healing, life and rest.
If you find that, like the storm, your thoughts keep trying to push their way back through the door of your mind, trying to wreak havoc on you, don’t become bothered or upset. You can close the door of your mind again by simply dropping the thought. Don’t follow it through; simply let it go and refocus your heart and soul on God, his presence, his love and his peace.
The more you practice this, the easier it becomes. You will also find that you will be able to stop negative thoughts as you go about your daily life – not just when you are meditating.
Soon you will become strong at holding the door of your mind closed to negative, stressful, unhealthy thoughts and you will find you will be living the peace-filled life you desire.
It is a powerful thing when you learn how to still your mind, open up your spirit to God, enter through the door to his presence and discover the incredible life that awaits you on the other side of the door.
I would love to hear your feedback on whether you found this blog helpful.
Praying peace and blessing for you!
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