Mental Rest; Rest Pt. 4
I doubt I have to tell you that when left unchecked clutter happens even in our brains. Men are waffles and women have spaghetti, right? ….If you know, you know.
We need to check the background noise in our brains. Are you constantly giving a negative self-critique or commentary? Do you relive the past or entertain circular thoughts that surface repeatedly? What loop of thought is repeated again and again?
Maybe you are engrossed in a form of escapism where you are fantasizing about another place or time, concentrating on how things could be different for most of your day?
Maybe you are constantly comparing yourself to someone else or measuring your reality against the beautiful curated pictures of social media? Me too, way more than I’d like to admit.
Maybe you’re too smart to make such comparisons, but you constantly measure you against yourself by viewing the present only through a past failure that you simply cannot let go or feel forgiveness for?
If you’re not careful, you will struggle to be present and pay attention to what is in front of you because of the clutter in your mind. Many of you know and love Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” But don’t forget the next verse, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Two questions emerge when a stray thought surfaces:
Is this the mind of Christ? Is there Biblical backing for this thought? It is true and does it glorify God?
Am I practicing what I have learned and received from scripture? It’s not going to come naturally since scripture says I’ll have to practice such things…but the outcome of such practice is God’s peace—-because it will make me more aware of His presence with me.
Romans 8:6 says, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
We need to create a mental sanctuary. Don't let the enemy whisper suggestive garbage into your thoughts. Hold each one captive to Christ! Sometimes this looks like purging the thoughts from our mind before bedtime and trusting, in faith, that God will work all of it out for our good. Any thought that we can’t let go of we bring before the Lord and give it to him. In fact, every thought is captured and then forced into obedience to Christ. In order to do this we must know what is true. We must have a proper understanding of who God is and what He has said. We cannot separate God’s will from His character.
When I think, “Man, that was stupid,” and I truly think I must be dumber than a box of rocks and worthless in my own eyes. I must stop and hold the thought in view of scripture. God says I am “fearfully and wonderfully made.” His word reminds me over, and over, that I am weak, and frail, and fallible, and STILL God is willing and powerful, present in my time of need. He is for me in a way that is staggering given my track record of failure.
So while I may feel inept and unable to do what is being asked of me, I know that God is helping me and will help me to accomplish all he has called me to do. I am not stupid, just human, and cherished beyond measure. How dare I talk about myself, one of God’s children, in this way. Things may be hard, and I may not be able to accomplish much in my ow strength, but God sees me and will help me in my time of need. I step down from this very important soapbox….But please, stop speaking ill of yourself!
Sometimes we just need to be wiser about how we structure the tasks in our day. Set up healthy boundaries around mentally draining tasks. Block out time to check on emails. Give yourself some limits. This doesn’t have to be rigid to be helpful. Book-end your day with the Words of Life. I’m going to put an end to the debate on whether your personal study should be in the morning or the evening…. Do both! Read through some scripture in the morning, think about it through the day, pray about it in the evening before bed. This doesn’t have to be a lot-a few verses or a chapter. Leave it out and open, glance at it repeatedly though the day and ask questions that come to mind, “What was the word it used there? I wonder why they would mention this detail?” This is an easy way for you to meditate on scripture throughout the day. By evening you might need to confess something to God or ask Him another question about the text. This method could lead you to another area of study or just help you to memorize and embody the text.
It dealing with the accusations of your accusers promptly with the power if the gospel(whether that be Satan or yourself), and by renewing your mind continually in the Word of God’s truth, you will experience a measure of peace within your mind that goes far beyond where most people live.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
