After you’ve imagined the people and places, it’s time to put them in motion. Visualize yourself as one of the characters in the story. Putting yourself into the action makes it personal. It connects you at a deep level with the reality of the situation.
Write it out, if you want. It’s a wonderful way to make the Bible come alive—and it’s a technique I used in two previous books to help readers engage with the Bible character and understand the circumstances of his or her life better.
This is especially helpful with people like Jeremiah, whose personal story is scattered throughout fifty-two chapters and broken up by long sections of prophecy. After using your Bible dictionary and concordance to find all references to Jeremiah, you can piece together the events of his life. This is study.
Then, retell the events of his life as a story. This is meditation.
It takes you deeper.
It engages the senses.
It makes it believable.
It makes it personal.
When you see yourself in the story, when you put yourself in someone’s shoes, you see how God interacted with this person. This awareness helps you interact with God’s truth in a personal way.
Once you’ve told the story, try changing characters. Tell the same story from a different point of view to see what happens. Often you can gain additional insights because there is truth and significance hidden in each point of view. In my book, Best Friends with God: Falling in Love with the God Who Loves You, I told the story of the Prodigal Son from the older brother’s perspective. Changing the point of view can bring new insights to the forefront.
Try it a third time with a different character and compare the results. Have fun engaging the Bible. This is meditation.
This is an excerpt from Sweeter Than Chocolate: Developing a Healthy Addiction to God’s Word. Used by permission.
Sweeter Than Chocolate 