Did you know that the average adult mind processes over 50,000 thoughts a day?! That's a lot of thoughts! But I can't help but wonder if that number includes when you can't sleep or when you've got other people's problems on your mind too. Thankfully, God knows His children well. And He included a few verses in His great book of instructions on life (Bible) for just such occasions. So if you're like me, swimming through to-do lists and post-it note reminders each day, maybe these verses can be a blessing to you, like they have been to me. Philippians 4:8 says "Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things."
If you're like me, you've heard this verse many times before. But it is still a good reminder to me to keep an eye on what I'm letting into my already chaotic mind. I try hard to change the algorithm for my social media feeds to be more positive and Godly. I interact with the posts that are encouraging and scroll past (or even click on the little "x" to delete) the posts that are more negative, self-focused, or (dare I say) political/news based. I don't hide my head in the sand. But I also don't want to dwell on the things that don't feed my soul or don't keep my eyes on Him and the purpose He has given me. I fail at this every single day, by the way. But I am trying. And I will keep trying because when I get it right, my heart and my mind are in such a better place to handle the problems that come my way. Psalm 94:19 says, "When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy." This verse is absolutely beautiful to me. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I've read it outside of the context of reading through the whole book of Psalms. But standing on it's own, it has a new glow about it. Reading it within the rest of the verses does not diminish it's power, mind you. But just seeing it on it's own is such a sweet reminder that when I do fall into a whirlwind of worries and concerns, He is standing right there waiting for me to invite Him in. He may or may not provide solutions for the things that weigh me down, I know that all too well. But even if He doesn't, His very presence brings such soft, gentle, protective power to me that the heaviness of the world tends to ease. I just need to remember in the chaos to look up and ask Him for help. He is such a gracious Father!
And one more before I end this blog post:
Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is a trusting rock."
What a great reminder of His promises to us. He wants to protect us. He wants to lead us into better things, an abundant life. But we have to trust Him. I recently heard in a FB reel (of all places) a pastor speaking on the fact that churches put so much emphasis on the word "faith" in our churches. But he proposed that we needed to put even more emphasis on the word "trust." He said, in my summarization of the sermon, that faith is born from trust. We can't live in faith if we don't actually trust what God says is true. And while that seems like a "duh" moment. For me, it was a good reminder that in the stressful times, in the panic moments of my life, and even in the PTSD flashbacks, I need to pause for a moment and ask myself, "Do you really trust God?" Because if I trust Him, no matter what is going on, then I have to believe that it is all for my good. It is all for His glory. And it will be okay one day. S, do you really trust God, today? Do I really, truly believe what He says is true? Then I need to remind myself of who He is and what He has done so far in my life. And, like King David, I need to remind myself that I would be dead without Him in my life thus far. I need to keep that truth forward in my mind and believe that these stresses and juggling acts are just seasons. It will be okay. God knows and He is still in charge. I just need to keep going and give Him praise every step of the way. God knows.
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