GUARD YOUR MIND
During those rough years when my husband was mentally and physically sick, he got angry about something. Usually, his reaction would be to go back to bed, but this time, he walked out the door and down the street. I thought, ok, he will be back soon. But after an hour, my mind started to imagine all kinds of things and I started to worry about him. I thought: what if he fell and is in a ditch where no one can see or help him-what if he got lost-what if he had a heart attack. My mind went to so many ‘what ifs.’ I got in my car looking for him, but I could not find him. I called my son and daughter-in-law and also called precious friends from church, who were always there for me. I stayed home, in case he came home, pacing back and forth and my anxiety grew with each step. My daughter-in-law found him walking, a few miles away. She tried to get him to get into her van, even opening the side door while she crept along. He refused to get in and just kept walking towards home. At least, he was going the right way. Once he got home, I lashed angrily out at him letting him know how worried we all were about him. Telling him to never do that again! He went back to bed. Was that the right reaction I should have had when I met him at the door? Probably not!
Have you ever had something happen to you, that caused you to get so worried that you started envisioning all kinds of bad things? Have you ever let your mind go to places that there was no way of getting your thoughts back? Have you ever reacted in such a negative way, by lashing out? I dare say, that everyone has at one time or the other. Philippians 4:6-7 is one of my favorite verses in the bible which has helped me through so many trials in my life. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus.” The mind, which God created, is such an amazing creation. It is said, we have 30,000 to 60,000 thoughts in a day. We let so many negative thoughts filtrate through our minds every day. We have to learn to clear our thoughts of negative reactions and not let them land there. Kinda like, when an airplane is cleared for landing or take-off. Sometimes, planes are redirected because of weather or a malfunction with the plane. We have to learn how to redirect our minds from all the negative “what ifs.”
In the Philippians verse above, Paul chooses to use a military term: guard. Our mind is a battle zone. We have to protect it from the forces that the devil tries to penetrate into our minds. Paul tells us in 2Corinthians 10:4-6, “For the weapons or our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” Our thoughts are at war! The media today is so toxic, feeding so much negative information into our minds, telling us we are too fat-too thin, too smart-too stupid, too ugly-too beautiful, not loved because of who we are and look like. The media tries to make us believe that we are not good enough for God to love us. These thoughts become our beliefs and are now part of our core, making them hard to push away from our minds. These thoughts hold us captive, causing many to turn to things of this world to make them feel better, even going so far as to lead to suicide, eating disorders and depression. These thoughts can cause us to spiral into the darkness.
Romans 12:2 tells us, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” How do we renew our minds? We have to allow the truth of God’s word to wipe out anything contrary to it. In Ephesians 6, God has given us the armor of God. “The helmet of salvation” is one of the forces we have to help us. This helmet protects and guards the brain. It protected the soldier from certain death. As the helmet protects the head, our hope in salvation protects our minds from Satan’s lies. The power of the cross through Jesus’ death, is our defense from Satan. We have to make the choice to defend our minds from all the negativity that Satan feeds us every day. We have to set our minds towards the hope we have through Jesus’ death on the cross, that we will leave this earth, with all its hopelessness, and live with Him eternally in heaven one day. The cross transforms how we think.
So, what should I have done when I could not find my husband?
- I should have spent more time in prayer. I should have reached out to the One who can truly help me: my God and my protector.
- I should have turned to God’s word. Read some of the scriptures that give me peace when my life was in turmoil.
- I should have taken some deep breaths and tried to relax in the memory that God had always helped me through the trials in my life before.
- I should have focused more on the fact that I had family and friends who were always there to help me and were helping me right then.
- I should have remembered that there was nothing I could do at that moment. I had no control over the situation.
- I should have not let that anxiety get such a root in my heart, that when we did find him, I lashed out at him.
- I should have taken my thoughts captive and guarded my mind, realizing that it was a beautiful day and it was a good thing for my husband, who was normally in bed, to take a walk even if it was because he was angry.
I am going to close with one of the verses I turn to during my hard times.
Psalm 27:11-14 “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies, do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries’ for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
The next time your mind wanders to all those “maybes,” bring it back into focus centering it on God’s truth. He is always there for you-God’s word holds peace if we just put our focus on it- take a deep breath and focus on talking to God. If you have let your mind wander to all the negatives, like I did, you are not guarding your minds with the tools God gives us in His word. Like I did, it is so easy to lash out at this world and its trials if we do not center our minds on God. God is true to His promises. We just have to fill our mind with God’s truth. It will guard your mind!
Till next time! Keela