It’s important to learn how to live an unhurried life in all aspects, including your work life. Maintaining a livelihood is necessary, after all, God created it as a source of income you can use to take care of your responsibilities and your family. And though it keeps your brain active, work can also wear you down or even become fatally detrimental, especially if you go non-stop.

I don’t believe this kind of super fast paced life is the Remarkable Life that God has in store for us. To calm your racing thoughts and help reduce your stress, why not embrace the practice of meditating? I realize this is one of those hot topics for most Christians. Before you say that it’s too “woo-woo” let me prepare to explain as you grab a cup of tea. Pick out your favorite summertime flavor and get your water ready. Let’s have a conversation about meditation.

The Bible actually encourages meditation. Psalm 104:34 reads, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” Here the Psalmist David meditates by praying, musing actively, contemplating, and focusing his thoughts on the LORD. This wasn’t some mindless activity but instead was a mindful and purposeful one.

Meditation enables focus in these four areas:

God’s Word: “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” Psalm 119:148 NIV

God’s Works: “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” Psalm 143:5 NIV

God’s Presence: “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” Psalm 63:2 – 5 NIV

God’s Promises: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 ESV

The benefit of spiritual meditation is that it allows you to seek God’s presence and His mindset. Meditation centers and brings your mind, body, and spirit into a state of pure calm. It also helps relieve any tension you feel about the day ahead while enabling you to focus on your inner power that comes from God and remind you of your value to Him and others.

Meditation also:

• Brings balance between your breath, brain, mind, soul, and physical body to support healthy brain function.
• It slows cognitive aging in adults, reduces sleepiness and fatigue, and improves focus.
• Reduces stress and encourages calm and relaxation.

Seven minutes for meditation: Engaging in this exercise at the beginning of each day is crucial and practically, it’s not so difficult. I enjoy a daily seven-minute time of meditation, which works wonders for my ADHD and anxiety disorder. And I’ve discovered meditating can mean the difference between attacking your day with ferocity or approaching it from a place of grace and ease.

Another type of meditation you should try is breathing meditation. It’s my favorite because it’s so flexible and it’s something you can do anytime and anywhere after you learn the basics:

• To begin, sit down in a comfortable and quiet space. While doing your first few practices, you want to cut out as many distractions as possible.
• Close your eyes and focus your thoughts on your breath.
• Pay attention to how the air feels flowing in and out of your nose.  
• Focus on the rising and falling of your abdomen as you breathe.
• The idea is to tune out everything else and only think about and feel your breath.

You can also focus your meditation on God, through prayer and thinking about how sweet and pleasant it is to know Him and rejoice in His great love and lavish grace for you. Allow your meditation to be a time to get in touch with the mind of Christ, to pray and ask God to give you the mind of Christ and submit your thoughts to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Keep in mind that there’s no particular amount of time you have to invest in meditation to reap its beneficial rewards. Even a 30-second meditation when you’re in a high-stress situation can be quite helpful. But, you’ll get the most relaxation and stress reduction from meditating if you make it part of your daily routine.

There are several types of meditation you can explore and an easy place to begin is either guided meditations or breathing meditations. There are guided meditation apps you can use on your smartphone that offers free and paid features. This may be a good option if you enjoy the daily practice of guided meditation. The meditations will gradually get longer and more intense, helping you develop consistency and discipline with the practice.

Keep in mind that other thoughts will pop into your head while you meditate. When that happens, gently bring your focus back to your breath or to the Lord. Start by meditating this way for five minutes per day and gradually work your way up to a level you’re comfortable with. Make it a daily habit and also meditate for 30 seconds or one to two minutes whenever you’re in a tense and stressful situation. Comment below and let me know how meditation is helping you reduce your stress and live your life more remarkably!