Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
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David and Goliath
Swanson, John August. David and Goliath, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56540 [retrieved June 22, 2024]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
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David vs. Goliath
Anonymous. David vs. Goliath, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58834 [retrieved June 22, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Regensburg,_Goliathhaus,_2017-06_CN-01.jpg.
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Living Out the Text: Be You
The entire Israelite army is terrified of the Philistines, and especially their champion, Goliath. Every day Goliath would challenge the army of Israel to send out their champion and every day no one would take up his challenge, until David comes on the scene. Unlike everyone else, David rises to the challenge. He has an unshakeable belief that God is bigger than the challenge.
When David approaches Saul volunteering to accept Goliath's challenge, Saul immediately outfits David with his own personal armor and weapons. Saul assumed that the best approach for David would Saul. He was not comfortable in Saul's armor and he didn't know how to use it. David rejected Saul's plan and instead embraced who he was. He changed back to his own clothes and gathered his own weapons to face Goliath.
God called David as David, not as Saul. He didn't want David to pretend to be someone that he wasn't. For David to do what God had called him to do, he needed to be who God created him to be and not to try to be someone else. It's the same what with us. When it comes to doing things for God, we sometimes feel like we need to be more like someone else. We feel like we need to do what they do, to have the gifts that they have. The truth is that God calls you as you are, with your gifts, your background, your experiences. He calls you to be you, not to be someone else.
Just like David had to be David, not Saul, to defeat Goliath, you can only do what God wants you to do if you are willing to be who God made you to be and not someone else.
David W. Dalton
The entire Israelite army is terrified of the Philistines, and especially their champion, Goliath. Every day Goliath would challenge the army of Israel to send out their champion and every day no one would take up his challenge, until David comes on the scene. Unlike everyone else, David rises to the challenge. He has an unshakeable belief that God is bigger than the challenge.
When David approaches Saul volunteering to accept Goliath's challenge, Saul immediately outfits David with his own personal armor and weapons. Saul assumed that the best approach for David would Saul. He was not comfortable in Saul's armor and he didn't know how to use it. David rejected Saul's plan and instead embraced who he was. He changed back to his own clothes and gathered his own weapons to face Goliath.
God called David as David, not as Saul. He didn't want David to pretend to be someone that he wasn't. For David to do what God had called him to do, he needed to be who God created him to be and not to try to be someone else. It's the same what with us. When it comes to doing things for God, we sometimes feel like we need to be more like someone else. We feel like we need to do what they do, to have the gifts that they have. The truth is that God calls you as you are, with your gifts, your background, your experiences. He calls you to be you, not to be someone else.
Just like David had to be David, not Saul, to defeat Goliath, you can only do what God wants you to do if you are willing to be who God made you to be and not someone else.
David W. Dalton