Finding Peace And Making It Yours
Do not be deceived into believing that you cannot help what you think. That suggests you cannot help your actions and that would suggest that the laws and rules that govern society were completely unnecessary and ineffective.
From the analogy once shared by a pastor of mine, you can decide to ride on the bus with no direction or you can decide to get in the driver’s seat.
In short, start being purposeful in your thinking.
My last post ‘One Foot Over The Edge‘ noted the importance of changing your mindset to overcome obstacles. But the truth is, when facing obstacles/trials, as humans, we aren’t always the most rational or calm beings. So how can one develop a peaceful mindset to face both the good and bad times?
First thing I want to share with you. With ANY doubt, ANY fear, or ANY question that you have, Philippians 4: 6-7 encourages us that we were never supposed to handle these things on our own:
“Don’t worry about ANYTHING; instead, pray about EVERYTHING. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. THEN you will experience God’s peace, which EXCEEDS ANYTHING we can understand. HIS PEACE WILL guard your hearts and minds as you LIVE IN Christ Jesus.”
Your heart and the mind are intimately connected and needs guarding. And 1 thing they have in common? They are both affected by your thoughts.
Having gone to God for answers, my journey to a peaceful mind began with recognising 3 things:
- I am not defined by my thoughts (Mark 5)
- I need to understand what my thoughts should look like (Romans 12: 9-21)
- I need to take charge of my mind (Matthew 12: 43-45)
NOT defined by your thoughts
Let us be honest, we have countless thoughts towards ourselves and often they change depending on a situation and this can be dangerous.
Sometimes we become so caught up in the situation that we begin to think and define ourselves based on that problem.
In Mark 5 we meet someone who thought she was defined by her problem and ultimately became known for her problem.
“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.”
Mark 5: 25-26
I encourage you to read the complete chapter and see how other people were mentioned by their name but this woman by her situation.
Our thoughts play a major role in our decisions and actions. When you begin to ponder something, what do you do with this thought? Who do you go to? Do you find yourself more frustrated when no one has answers or direction? You may have found your thoughts now solely focused on this one thing that begins to affect how you act or other people saw you.
“When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’
But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Mark 5: 27-31
There are many things to learn from this scripture, but one thing it taught me: You may define yourself by your problem, and others may define you as your problem BUT you are not who you thought BECAUSE God called you HIS!
We must recognise that if we allow ourselves to keep thinking we are our flaws, problems, situations, it may hinder us from knowing who we truly are and we can become stuck, never moving forward. This does not mean we do not have flaws or that we won’t face situations. Instead knowing and thinking you belong to God gives the reassurance that healing is possible, situations can be resolved and triumph is possible.
Is that not great!?
I do want to issue a caution. One of the difficult things I learned on my walk with God is that problems are inevitable, and God does not answer to the deadline you have given Him. But have hope he is an on-time God!
So you are not just a woman or man with an addiction, an illness, a disability, a bad attitude, or grief – You are His sons and daughters.
I repeat. You are His sons and daughters!
“It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by you!“
What should your thoughts look like?
When you are about to do something new, whether it is to play a game or write an essay, it is always helpful to have a reference of what a successful outcome should look like.
Because if successful people are doing A to complete the task, why would you do B to fail?
Romans 12: 9-21 is a great help as it tells us exactly what we should be thinking about. So go check it out!
Once you have a blueprint to success, being given freely, it would be unwise to miss the opportunity freely given. I encourage you to meditate on this scripture, take it apart and think,” Do I think about these things? Do I think about them enough to act on them?”
I leave the answer to you.
Taking charge of your mind
I have mentioned before that I have dealt with suicidal thoughts and encountered depression several times in my life.
Each time that I recovered and thought I fought my battles, I realised I had set myself up for failure.
Let me explain.
Whenever I encountered negative thoughts, I thought the solution was to simply stop thinking about negative thoughts. Dismiss them and not let them fester from a wound to infection. But I was wrong!
Let’s read:
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first”.
Matthew 12: 43-45
When you face negative thoughts on a bad day(s), clearing them or dismissing them is not enough. Because you leave your mind with room for them to return, as the evil spirits that returned to the man.
The thoughts then come back at full force sometimes leaving us more shaken up than before and I can attest to this.
So don’t make room for these things. Instead, I encourage you to fill your room namely, your mind, with the new things. Think about the things mentioned in Romans 12: 9-21. If you take charge of your mind, you make it difficult for the negative thoughts to return. And if they do, remember who you are!
When you combine these 3 three principles and put them into action, you begin to experience peace in your heart and mind, through the good times and the bad.
