Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Transcendental Meditation
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Psalm 23:1-2
Notice, first, that as our Shepherd, Christ takes the initiative to lead us to still places. Leading us "beside the still waters" ranks among His highest priorities, along with providing for our needs and giving us rest and security. He wants us to have ready access to still places for our well-being and growth. Second, this psalm is written from the viewpoint of a sheep. What about "still waters" would a sheep consider a blessing? Literally, "still waters" refers to ponds, lakes, or slow-moving rivers or streams—any body of fresh water that does not rush. Because they are very skittish creatures, sheep will refuse to drink from rushing waters. A rushing brook will frighten and agitate them. They prefer a placid, still environment, which is the kind of environment that a good shepherd will provide for his sheep. Peaceful waters make for contented sheep. Having found a quiet, still place where we are at peace, however, we are only halfway to our destination of being still. What do we do when we arrive there? Just because we have found this environment does not mean that we have completed this assignment from God to be still. Many of the Eastern systems that advocate this kind of relaxation—yoga, transcendental meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.—encourage practitioners to empty their minds once they find this peaceful, relaxed state. However, the godly way of being still requires only that we rid our minds of the aspects of this present world that fog the way we think, particularly those influences that Satan broadcasts (Ephesians 2:2-3; Romans 13:12). When we are still, God does not want us to be mindless, which will only open us to demonic persuasion (Matthew 12:43-45). Instead, God wants us to meditate on wholesome thoughts and godly attitudes (Philippians 4:8; I Timothy 6:11)—to condition our minds to think as He does. We think best when we are free of Satan's influence, which clogs our minds with attitudes that inspire hurt, mistrust, conflict, and pride, ramping up stress and inner turmoil. God wants us to take the time to be still and think about right and good things, which generate positive emotions and peace. The story of Job provides a clear illustration of how being still works. Early in his trial, after all of the calamities that had befallen him, Job is joined by three friends, ostensibly to comfort him in his grief and pain. When Job finally speaks, he maintains that he is righteous before God; he can think of nothing he had left undone of all that God requires. His friends, however, are just as convinced that Job had sinned, that he had not recognized something sinful in his life. They persist in contending that he is a sinful man and needs to do something to appease God, but after hearing Job adamantly justify himself, they give up. Once they do, a young man named Elihu, who had been listening to their arguments, apologizes for his youth yet says he can no longer contain himself—he has to give his opinion. And so he begins to answer Job. What he says in Job 37:14 is part of his conclusion: "Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Elihu is trying to get Job, first of all, to see God and then to consider his personal problems from God's perspective. Job's justifications were based on his looking at his own works and all that he had done. He was so full of argument and agitated, frustrated and full of questions, because he was fixated on himself. Elihu urges him to turn his viewpoint away from himself so that he can see the true crux of the problem. Elihu's advice is, "Job, be still and consider what God has done." He suggests finding a place of peace and quiet and then meditating on God's wondrous works—in nature, in the heavens, in man, in His people, and in His plan. Look, Elihu says, at what God is doing! In other words, he recommends that Job compare himself and his pitiful good works to God and the utterly magnificent works that He does every day. Interestingly, when God speaks to Job beginning in Job 38, He tells him essentially the same thing. Once we can see ourselves compared to our great God, we will be in the proper attitude to receive instruction, correction, direction, or whatever God wants us to have. So, when we enter a still place, to achieve the proper frame of mind, we must turn our minds from the mundane and consider God and what He has done.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Beating the Rat Race (Part Two)
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James 5:14-15
Most churches believe in divine healing—at least on paper. It seems only the more charismatic congregations, however, announce their belief in God's power to heal. In the twenty-first century, it is far more "reasonable" for mainstream denominations to sing the praises of medical, technical, and scientific advances in health-related areas than to promote the more "primitive" practice of trusting in God. Healing is just too low-tech and passé. Of course, healing takes faith, which is not a characteristic of the present culture. Faith is on the outs, with doubt, skepticism, and disbelief in the majority. Most people would give the same credence to divine healing as they would shamanism, transcendental meditation, feng shui, astrology, or magic beans. In a word, the typical, secular individual would call healing through faith in God "superstition." At best, they would consider it a sometimes-effective placebo or mind over matter. For, to admit to healing is to admit the existence and intervention of Almighty God. Christians are by definition followers of Jesus Christ—and how unpopular that is even among those who profess Christianity! Any reader of the gospels cannot help but be struck by the number of accounts of healings done by Jesus during His ministry. He freely healed lepers, the blind, the lame, women with female problems, children with deathly fevers—in fact, just about anyone who asked! He even raised a few people from the dead! Yet, in a way, He really did not heal all these people Himself, but His Father in heaven did these merciful works through Him (John 14:10). Divine healing works the same way today. Jesus asks in Luke 18:8, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" This is obviously part of the problem why more healings do not take place among us, but it is certainly not all of it. Many faithful Christians have died trusting in God to heal them, and whether or not they availed themselves of medical help during their illness does not seem to be all that much of a factor—or whether they chose to follow a "natural" cure or some new, experimental treatment. Something other than human remedies for disease is the factor that decides the life or death of the ailing faithful. The "missing" dimension in healing is God, of course. Too many of us—in our pain, grief, and confusion—look at divine healing far too simplistically and carnally, and this is understandable under such trying circumstances. We know God desires to heal us, and He promises to do so (see Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3; Matthew 8:1-3; James 5:14-15). We know we can claim God's application of the stripes of Jesus Christ for our healing (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24). However, we often forget that these promises are not unconditional; God is not bound, like some genie in a bottle, to fulfill them automatically once they are claimed. As a loving and caring Father, He would like to heal us every time, but sometimes it is better that He does not. Three overriding factors—His sovereignty, His love, and His purpose—take precedence, and He considers these when He decides our petitions for healing. The bottom line is that He will do for the sick child of God what is ultimately best for him (Romans 8:28). Period. Sometimes, He decides that physical death is best. He made such a decision concerning His own Son (see Luke 22:41-44)! We can be thankful that God is not constrained by death; Jesus Christ put that enemy down (I Corinthians 15:50-55; Hebrews 2:14-15). Even so, our emotions and our human points of view frequently do not agree that death is sometimes best. We deeply feel our loss. But faith must do its work here too. We must believe that God's care of His children is absolutely loving and that His promise of eternal life is sure—that death is only temporary rest before a vibrant and abundant life in His Kingdom. As mature Christians, we must come to understand healing in a more perfect way. We need to come to the conclusion Job does: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. . . . Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 1:21; 2:10). Jesus Himself echoes this attitude in Luke 22:42, "Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Finally, God gives us hope, reminding us that our sorrow is not the end of the matter: "Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies" (Lamentations 3:32).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Some Thoughts on Healing
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