Putting Reigns on the Mind

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
ESV

How many times does your mind take you into worry and anxiety? Do you have times when you simply can't turn your mind off as it races to the next day or that difficult meeting or a broken relationship and to the "if only I'd..."

Here is a word of encouragement for you. There is peace, shalom in Hebrew, waiting for those who will "stay" their minds on the Lord. The Hebrew word means "to prop" or "to lean upon or take hold."

The next time you feel anxious and your thoughts control you, take those thoughts and turn them towards the Lord; think about how wonderful He is, how gracious, how powerful, how loving, how pure, how much He is in charge. Perhaps read a Psalm or the story of the Exodus or of how He rescued Paul from shipwreck, or the resurrection.

You may well find yourself "trusting" in Him, which means to have confidence. If you belong to Jesus then God is in control of every aspect of your life. There is nothing that can happen to you outside of His will. Even bad things are turned to good; tragedy to rejoicing. Yes, there are trials ahead and relationships that are broken and times when you won't know where to turn.

The point isn't to figure all that out for yourself, but to train your mind to remain steadfast on the Lord and confident in His power to do what's best for you even if that means going through pain because in the end He is doing a great thing in you - making you like Him. Now that's something to think about.

Pastor Tom