Where does your mind stay?
Where do you like to stay?
Perhaps you like to travel and stay in nice hotels or resorts or Airbnbs.
Or perhaps you are more of a homebody (like me), and you prefer to have “staycations” right at your house.
Then again, perhaps you simply like to stay in a cozy coffee shop somewhere.
Where our bodies stay is important, but I believe something else is even more important: where our minds stay.
I recently read one of my favorite verses, Isaiah 26:3:
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
When we consider all that is happening within our world, within our countries, within our churches, within our families, and even within ourselves, peace can seem like a far-fetched dream. And this verse speaks not simply of peace but of “perfect peace.”
How appealing does “perfect peace” sound to you? Sign me up, please!
As the prophet Isaiah discussed the coming ultimate triumph of our Messiah, he penned this beautiful promise of God’s perfect peace. Yet, as with several biblical promises, this one has conditions. Let’s briefly unpack this verse:
God does the keeping- This “perfect peace” of which Isaiah spoke is possible for us only if God is the one keeping us. Far too often, we can be tempted to look to other sources to keep us at peace. Some people may look to money, others may look to certain people, and still others may look to themselves. Yet any source we look to for peace instead of God will prove to be insufficient. Other sources can provide comfort temporarily, but such experiences fall incredibly short of the perfect peace God offers.
Question to consider: Where are you most tempted to look for peace outside of God?
Our minds must stay on Him- What’s the condition for this perfect peace God offers? It’s all about where our minds stay. And Isaiah’s message is clear here: God’s perfect peace is available only to those who keep their minds stayed on Him. What does that mean? The Hebrew word for “stayed” literally means “to lean, lay, rest, support, put, uphold, or lean upon.” Given this visual language, it is worth considering where our minds stay or lean.
For some of us, our minds may stay on local, national, or global news—politics, crime, wars, natural disasters, etc. Being informed about what is happening in the world around us has its place. Yet, what kind of peace should we expect to experience if our minds stay on such matters? Not the perfect kind, that’s for sure.
For those of us who do not keep our minds stayed on the news media, we may keep them stayed on our families, our finances, our health, our status, or other earthly matters. While these areas are important, and we should seek to steward them well, keeping our minds stayed on them will inevitably rob us of peace. Why? Because they are all subject to change. The only route to perfect peace is keeping our minds stayed on the LORD God Almighty who never changes.
Question to consider: Where does your mind stay most of the time?
Our hearts must trust in Him- How can we keep our minds stayed on God? We will find that once our hearts truly trust in the LORD, our minds will stay or lean on Him. Growing in our trust of the LORD is a life-long journey, so we should not get discouraged when we discover areas of fear or doubt in our hearts. Instead, we should be open and honest with God about those areas (especially since He already knows anyway), and we should ask Him to help us overcome in those areas. We could pray a prayer similar to the one a desperate father prayed while asking Jesus to heal his son: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Question to consider: Does your heart trust in the LORD? In what areas can you grow in your trust of Him?
I’m praying for you, my friend, even as I pray for myself—that we will experience the perfect peace of our God as our hearts trust in Him. And if someone should ever ask us, “Where does your mind stay?” I pray our true answer will be…
“On the LORD!”
Your Sister-Friend,
Leah
