What is on Your Mind?

At the beginning of the year, we had a declaration service at church where we declared powerful words – based on Scripture – over our lives and the year. I lead a few of these declarations, one of which was based on Isaiah 26:3.

These were the words we declared:

IN 2020, AS I KEEP MY MIND FIXED ON GOD, I WILL EXPERIENCE HIS CONSTANT AND PERFECT PEACE ALWAYS.

These words were bold, fiery, and full of faith.

At the point of declaring these words, I had no idea we were heading into a pandemic, I had no idea that some of the people I was leading to declare these words would be unemployed for months, I had no idea some would not sit exams which could affect their future choices. I had no idea of the threat of an illness that could take away the lives of people. Realistically, I had NO IDEA what even the next day would hold.

The truth is these words came from a place of faith – these words came from a place where my mind had been FIXED on GOD.

So, this begs the question – what is on your mind?

Right now, we are living in ‘unprecedented times’, there have never been any quite like it. But, even in the midst of this, what is on your mind? Have you focused on the increasing numbers? The uncertainty of the financial future? The threat of getting ill?

Today, even in the midst of the chaos, I encourage you to keep your mind fixed on God. Change your thoughts from those of anxiety to those of peace by changing the focus of your mind.

If we look at the scripture,

“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes confidently in You” – Isaiah 26:3 (AMPC)

 The first promise in this scripture is that God will guard you. To guard is to protect, shield, defend, or to cover.

Imagine that you are in a country which is prone to mosquitoes. If you sleep at night without a cover, you are likely to get bitten multiple times. However, if you were to sleep with a mosquito net, the likelihood of getting bitten dramatically reduces – if not becomes completely null! The same goes for the protection of God – without it, you are likely to get bitten – in this instance, overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. However, with God as your guard, the likelihood of being overwhelmed with these things reduces. Does this remove the threat of anxiety? No. The same way having a mosquito net does not remove the mosquitoes from the air, the covering of God does not remove the situations by which anxiety can arise instead, however, it brings you supernatural peace even in the face of those situations.

The second promise, God will keep you in perfect and constant peace. A peace that is perfect is one that is without blemish or fault. That means it is secure and cannot fail. Coupled with the fact that this peace is constant, that makes this peace an ANCHOR. By definition, an anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. So, the peace of God connects us to His truth, His nature, His will and in doing so prevents us from drifting due to the current circumstances of our lives.

However, these two promises are conditional based on the premise that your mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on God. An inclination is your disposition; what is your natural response to situations – do you cower in fear or do you rise in faith? You must STAY on GOD in order to experience HIS PERFECT AND CONSTANT PEACE.

What does this look like? Feeling the fear and moving forward anyway. Feeling anxious but calling out His peace. When you see the future as uncertain, constantly submitting your plans and desires to the Lord. Though the situation may look the same, day by day, it is changing – why? Because you commit yourself to God, lean on God and hope confidently in God.

Take time out today, this week, this month – sit with God and be open with Him. What is on your mind? Tell Him, be honest. As you do, be sure to recount His goodness, His faithfulness and His peace. As you do, fix your mind on what HE SAYS not on what you see around you.

Today, my prayer for you is simple but heartfelt.

Lord, as people read these words – as they keep their minds fixed on you, cause them to experience your perfect and constant peace always. Amen.