Creativity and meditation

Chewing the cud

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

by Meredith Davis of

Face Out

When I read the word "meditation," I picture candles in a dark room or a quiet morning with my Bible spread on my lap. There is birdsong or a gentle wind. There is peace and calm, not a line of irritated, in-a-hurry customers at the grocery store or bumper-to-bumper traffic. That can’t possibly be a place for meditation.

But I doubt the person who delights in and meditates on God’s law day and night in Psalm 1:2 was always in a state of peace and quiet in perfect surroundings. Was he a farmer mucking stalls? A busy father? Maybe a shopkeeper or tentmaker, sweaty and frazzled from a busy day?

“Meditation chews the cud” is a quote from Bartholomew Ashwood's 1688 book, The Heavenly Trade. How an animal re-chews its food is hardly a romantic image. Charles Spurgeon said of scripture, “It is not only reading that does us good, but the soul inwardly feeding on it and digesting it.”

So meditation isn’t a Pinterist-perfect moment, but it should also be as easy and effortless as a cow chewing the cud. Why was I struggling? For years, I’d read scripture and then promptly walk away from my Bible, forgetting what I’d read as I moved on with my day.

Meanwhile, as a writer of middle-grade novels, when I was working on a project, my story stuck with me. I chewed on plot snarls or teased out a character's motivation in the car and standing in line at the grocery store. I turned off the radio and ignored my phone because my brain was at work, puzzling over details.

What if I could bring that same focus, that same meditation, to scripture? In January of 2021, I had an idea. I’d been meeting with a woman thirty years younger than me to study the Bible, and I knew she liked to write. I suggested we write a poem for every chapter of Daniel, and she was game.

It didn’t matter what kind of poem. Our goal was to creatively engage with scripture to see if it helped keep our attention longer than traditional Bible study methods we’d tried. While it felt like a novel idea to us then, the tradition of entering scripture imaginatively is not unique. Beginning with Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century, many have found their way to meditation through paraphrasing and writing poetry.

As we began our journey, my friend and I found Daniel rife with prophecy and difficult passages. We searched commentaries, digging deeper into God’s word. We drew conclusions as if we were detectives with a crime board, strings stretching from pin to pin. Every two weeks, we’d meet and talk about scripture with the same passion we might have used in talking about our favorite movie. Then, we shared our poems.

It was exciting, engaging, and fun. We moved slowly, just a couple of poems and chapters every couple of weeks. This was no read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program (which has its benefits). We loved our process, and I was hooked. We went on to study John this way, then Genesis and Revelation. Four years later, we’re still at it, and I’m determined to continue what I call the Bible Poetry Project until I’ve gone through the whole Bible.

I’ve learned that the quality of our poems is less important than how we engage personally and authentically with each chapter, bringing enthusiasm and energy to our study.

Is using creativity to engage with Scripture for everybody? I’d argue yes. Our creative God has made us in His image. We are all creative, though our creativity manifests itself in many ways.

I have a friend who is a potter. She hand-built a bowl for each chapter in Colossians. A couple of women I know do illustrated notes for chapters, highlighting a word or verse that speaks to them and allowing their process to lead them deeper into God’s word in a personal way. What would engaging creatively with scripture look like for someone who loves cooking or knitting, an illustrator, a songwriter, or a young mom doodling alongside her kids?

Meditation can look different depending on the person and their unique gifts. But no matter where we are in life or how we use our God-given creativity, chewing the cud is a gift to ourselves and a gift back to the Creator.

Meredith Davis writes and publishes middle grade novels for kids: Her Own Two Feet (Scholastic) The Minor Miracle and The Minor Rescue (Waterbrook). She is also writing a poem for every chapter of the Bible, posting to The Bible Poetry Project website weekly.

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