Welcome to my blog! We are in the middle of a devotional series in honor of Mental Health Month. Today we are at Session Three of “Perfecting a Stayed Mind” based on Isaiah 26:3.
Glad to have you here. If you missed any of the previous sessions, please follow the links.
Introduction & Session One
Session Two
SESSION THREE
We are to our third session as we continue discussing this whole idea of keeping our mind stayed as it refers to in Isaiah 26:3, which we are using for our theme verse for this series.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
I hope after this week that you will have memorized that verse. It’s a good one to keep in ready reference in our hearts to call out when we need it.
Today we will be delving into how we can cling to peace. Our verse mentions peace, and not only peace, but it states, “perfect peace”.
Unfortunately, sometimes our minds can be a landing pad for chaos. Have you ever felt like your mind was chaotic? It happens to all of us. There just seems to be that noise. We will be talking about three ways that can help us tone that down a little bit so we can have those stayed minds.
DECLUTTER YOUR MIND
FOCUS ON THE PRESENT
GET RELAXED
Declutter your Mind
I am of course not talking about decluttering things like clothing and material stuff, although that can sometimes help with inner peace too, but I’m talking about decluttering our minds.
Are you familiar with that verse in Ecclesiastes 3? There is a time to cast away, so let’s make that time now when it comes to decluttering our minds.
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; Ecclesiastes 3:6
Many things can pile up in our minds. Our minds can get like an unorganized drawer or filing cabinets that have been toppled over and spilling out on the floor. Or maybe you feel like yours is a huge storage shed that is stuffed, overflowing, and unorganized.
So many thoughts start swirling around in our heads. So many subjects rattling around in there. So many people to think about. So many needs that require attention. So many jobs to do. So many things to plan.
And what about those hurt feelings that land there? Thank the Lord for the happy ones that find their way into our minds as well. There can be those unsettling imaginations that stop and visit. So many random, crazy, and uninspiring tidbits of thoughts can decide to take up residence in the corners of our mind.
Then there are those harmful thoughts that enforce a low self-esteem. Way back in the recesses of our minds are those things we have forgotten that come racing to the top of our heads when our minds are already stuffed to capacity. Or maybe we recall all of those mean and hateful things that anyone has ever said to us. Our minds can be so full!
It just takes one little kink in your day to cause your mind to say, “Play” on a movie entitled “Woe is Me Moments from a Lifetime”. It’s like those moments are spliced together and playing in a loop in your head. And they will of course be playing in HD and full volume. More of that mind clutter!
What happens when we don’t have peaceful minds? Our thinking gets a little disorganized, confused, and maybe even a little haywire. Right? In turn that makes our emotions surge in all sorts of ways. Then that affects our behavior. It will affect our eating. It will affect our sleeping. We start living just on the emotion of it all and we aren’t grounded anymore. From there it sometimes affects our whole body and our whole health is in jeopardy.
Let’s check out some of the benefits of having a decluttered mind.
- It will make you feel more in control of your thoughts.
- It will help you think about the things in life that are important.
- It will help you focus.
- It will help you be more relaxed.
- It will help you worry less.
- It will help you keep your emotions in check.
- It will free you up to dream bigger goals.
- It will soothe your conflict.
We have to keep our minds in check. Tidier spaces in life help us to be calmer, and it’s true for our minds as well.
Here are some questions to ask.
- Is anything bogging you down?
- Is anything getting you depressed?
- Is anything nagging you?
- Is anything keeping you from moving forward?
- Is anything or any person continuously unsettling your thoughts?
- Is anything causing all noise and chaos in your mind?
It’s so hard to get all of these thoughts and all of that noise under control but we must work on it. There is a passage in Philippians that always helps me when I have a bustling mind. Remember how in Session Two, we talked about prayer being something we can cling to? Well, just look what these verses say about the link of prayer and peaceful minds.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
And then look at what we should be thinking about in the next verses.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
Do you see how verse 9 ends? It says, “and the God of peace shall be with you”. It’s so amazing that we have the God of Peace. He isn’t the God of Conflict. He isn’t the God of Noise. He isn’t the God of Unrest. He is the God of Peace. Can I get an amen and a hallelujah?
When we are concentrating on all those lovely things like it speaks about in Philippians 4, it can help clear up the clutter of things that hold us back from having that peaceful spirit. It will help stay our minds on the good things.
Focus on the Present
When we talk about living in the present, we mean that we are literally present. We are existing in the here and now. We aren’t living in the past, nor are we living in the future.
Those are the two things that hold us up the most with living in the present. Our past and our future. Face it. We have to deal with our past and the hauntings of it and embrace the future without our dreams and plans of it overshadowing our here and now.
Let’s look at our past a minute. There is a lot of stuff there. Isn’t there? It’s our past journey and each aspect can be important to the path we are on now in life. But the past isn’t where we are living currently. We have to take the lessons we have learned from the past. We can take the memories we have made from the past. But hey. We can’t live there.
There might be some practical things you have to do to move on from your past to help you have a peaceful mind. You may have to ask for forgiveness from God or from another person before you can move on from it. If you are harboring bitterness over something from the past, don’t carry it into the here and now. It will just end up as noise in your mind.
We also can’t lament over past decisions, especially those we made when we were young and dumb. It’s done. It’s over. We have to move on or that past will haunt our here and now and even our future.
And what about those should haves and could haves from the past? They will end up as noise in our minds as well if we don’t realize that is in the past. Hindsight is so much easier then in the moment, but it doesn’t undo past decisions. We must learn to give those should haves and could haves over to the Lord.
Now, let’s talk about the future. It can be bright, cheery, and wonderful, but we can’t live there either. And for some people, the future may seem daunting, scary, and formidable, and they worry in the here and now about living in that uncertain future. But no matter if it is bright or scary, none of us can live in the future at this moment, so we have to let it go.
There is nothing wrong with future plans and future goals, but we must be present in the here and now if we are ever going to calm that chaos in our heads. If we are going to have those stayed minds, we are going to have to enjoy each day and cling to that peace that only God can give.
Here are a few things to help you get in the present when your mind wants to wander to your failures of the past or to your uncertainty of the future.
- Notice your surroundings.
- Notice the people around you.
- Focus on what is happening at the moment.
- Try to be grateful every day.
- Try to look for daily blessings.
- Try to look for a way to bless someone else.
- Try to rein in your expectations.
- Try to make big tasks smaller and more manageable.
- Try new things.
- Try to reach for future goals a little at a time.
Is any of that easy to remember to do all the time? Well, not really. Life is hard and getting our minds at peace is a struggle at times. But if we don’t work at experiencing life in a peaceful way, then that’s not really living. Is it?
There genuinely is something special to just living one day at a time. It cuts down that noise in our minds and helps us attain that peace.
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Get Relaxed
Relax! Have you ever had someone tell you that? It’s easier said that done. Isn’t it? I think so. I have to work at being relaxed. Seems like such a simple thing would come naturally, but I’ve never found it to be so. Well, maybe it just doesn’t come naturally to me.
One of the things I think we have to do to become relaxed is to get rid of the pandemonium of all those interruptions and setbacks that come along in life.
Ever feel like your life journey was just moving along fine and then comes one setback after another? They seem to just be interrupting your life! Maybe your car will break down. Maybe one of your kids will get sick. Maybe you or your spouse lose your job. Maybe a big medical bill will come along. Maybe a tree falls on your roof. Maybe your car is broken into by a thief. Maybe your air conditioner breaks down in the middle of a heat wave. Maybe you end up caring for someone elderly in your family and it becomes a hardship. Maybe you need new tires for your car. Maybe you are a victim of a random act of violence. Maybe you lost your house or your place to live.
Yep! Those are the stuff of life. And it’s really hard to relax when you feel like you are being preyed on by circumstances. It makes peace a struggle, so we have to learn to relax even through our circumstances.
I think about the Apostle Paul and how he gloried in those bad things in life. You really have to read that whole chapter of 2 Corinthians 12 to get the whole story, but here is a little peek.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
I love studying all those things in the New Testament written by Paul. It always makes me laugh when I see children’s flannelgraph and children’s story books with pictures and illustrations of Paul. They usually make him out to be this little white-haired old man. In my mind, Paul is like Keven Sorbo in Hercules or something. I think of Paul as a big strong man. Wow! Were his words ever strong.
It’s hard to glory in those infirmities, but Paul says he did, so I believe him and I believe the Bible. I was thinking about that because recently I went to the Starbucks in Target and treated myself to a piece of their pumpkin bread. They sell it all year round and I rarely get it, but hey, I had a Starbucks gift card.
Anyway, I took my beautiful slice of warmed pumpkin bread with me and as I swung my arm to get into the car, the slice of pumpkin bread just flew out of the little bag it was in and I saw it bounce and disappear under my car. Talk about not having any peace in my mind. I was deflated. So, when I was reading over this passage, I was reminded of that flying piece of pumpkin bread and how such a little thing played with my mind. Because of course when I got in my car, I sat there a minute and remembered all of the other things that had already gone wrong that morning. All that chaos started screaming in my head.
And here Paul is over here glorying in his real-life infirmities. He’s talking about getting buffeted by Satan. I couldn’t help but get a little perspective from realizing that pumpkin bread shouldn’t be up there messing with my mind. I know I need to relax! I always feel like Paul must have had peace in what he was doing and how he was living just by the things he said. I don’t see how you would say the things he did if he didn’t have a calm head and peace in his heart. There are such deep things to ponder by Paul’s words.
- …If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
- I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
- For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
- In every thing give thanks…(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
- Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)
I think in order to relax we need to learn to overlook the things that may annoy us but that just don’t matter in the big scheme of life. And if we are going to cling to that peace, we are going to have to make some allowances that little and big interruptions and setbacks will be part of our daily living. We can’t get overly stressed about it when it happens.
We have to relax and learn to settle into that peace that only the Lord can give.
Final Thoughts
It’s a noisy world out there and it is so easy to bring it all into our minds. I’m so glad that the Lord gives us that peace like no one or nothing else can ever do.
I love a good declutter in my house. It always sets me at ease and helps my inner peace. A good declutter of our mind can do that for our thinking. And then living in the present can help us attain that peace a little better too because we aren’t always worrying about the past or the future. And then to be able to relax just cinches the deal where peace of mind is concerned.
There is nothing like settling into the peace of God. It will swallow up all that noise and chaos that comes along with our daily living.
Chaos seems to want to reside right up there in our minds. That noise seems to cover every inch of our thinking sometimes. Unsettling random thoughts hit us like little arrows flying through the sky. We must get a respite from it. And one way to do that is to cling to that peace that God gives.
Look what the Bible says in relation to peace and God.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace… 1 Corinthians 14:33
That passage is referring to peace and harmony among believers in the early churches, but I don’t think God is the author of confusion in any form. So, when it comes to our minds, they should be a place of peace and rest, and we have to stay our mind on Christ in order to allow that peace to grow.
So, are you clinging to peace?
Perfecting a Stayed Mind Series
Introduction & Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Session Four
Summary
Thanks so much for stopping in today. I hope you enjoyed our session. We will have the last devotional tomorrow and on Friday will be the summary for the series. Plus I will have some free downloads for you on Friday (May 26).
Please stop over to my Julia Bettencourt Ramblings Facebook Page and leave your comments on this subject. I always enjoy hearing what my visitors have to say.
Have a lovely day,
Julia
Remember, if you are being overwhelmed with anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, please talk to a trained health care professional.
