You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Real, sturdy, lasting peace, peace that doesn’t rise and fall with circumstances, isn’t to be found in picking apart your life until you have understood all of the components. You will never understand it all because God, for your good and his glory, keeps some of it shrouded in mystery.
Being mindful. Mind. Full. The question is this…what are we choosing to fill our minds with? Given that each of us will face situations, people, and circumstances that may provoke our emotions to rise and fall; we must be intentional about what we think about. Will we choose to make our default thinking plan to center around and upon the truth found in God’s word? Or will lose ourselves in the emotional mire of defeat, depression, and discouragement?
Be intentional with your thoughts
It really does come down to one choice, one intentional thought at a time. Either we mindfully bow our heart and mind before the throne of God and beseech him for the supernatural enablement to keep going despite what is happening all around us; or we will fall victim to the always unpredictable, always changing circumstances in life.
Remember what God has promised
The sooner we learn to take our wandering thoughts captive and bring every one under subjection to Christ, the swifter our minds will stay focused on God and who he is; what he has promised; and what he has already done for us. Being mindful so that we can live self-forgetful is essential to viewing life through Jesus’ eternal perspective. Will we necessarily understand everything that happens? No, each of us will face questions that may only be answered in eternity. Because as Paul Tripp so wisely points out, “God, for your good and his glory, keeps some of it shrouded in mystery.”
Finding Joyful Freedom in Self-forgetfulness
- Self-forgetfulness with others – You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast. I will begin each day this week prayerfully planning specific ways to encourage and bless those around me. I’ll make a daily plan to interact and lift up each of these individuals according to their need and I’ll encourage them to face their own challenges by keeping their focus on you at all times.
- Self-forgetfulness in me – We trust in you. Each evening this week, I will take a few moments to consider the challenging seasons in my life when I was forced to throw myself on your mercy to get through the trial I was facing. I will purpose to become a good remember-er and an even more thankful Christ follower knowing that as I revisit your past supernatural deliverances, my faith will deepen and my peace will expand.
- Self-forgetfulness with God – The Lord himself is the Rock eternal. Using a bible concordance and dictionary, I will look up and study the biblical accounts where God is described as our Rock so that I can widen my grasp of what this promise means in my life.
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