DAY 2 - MIND OF PEACE
Keaton Tucker, YA Groups Team Lead
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ESV
Where is your mind? What thoughts are you having? What are you constantly talking about? Take inventory real quick.
I have a friend of a friend who is up to date, by the minute, on all of the COVID-19 information. He knows all of the outbreaks, the cases, the news headlines, what politicians are trying to do, what is closed, etc. He knows all of the information because his eyes and his mind are fixed on Google news. He is constantly refreshing and always reading. He is the most informed person I know on everything that is happening. He even re-downloaded Twitter to stay up to date on the commentaries people are posting!
This friend of a friend is also anxious. Worried. On edge. All he can talk about is COVID-19, and yet, he is unable to do anything other than secluding himself and be anxious.
Okay, I’ll admit it. The friend of the friend is me.
Anxious and fixed on the news is a terrible combination when you are locked up in your house and unable to change the situation we find ourselves in. But I came across this verse (Isaiah 26:3 ESV) and felt like God whispered in my ear, “The state of your mind will be determined by what you fix your mind on.” I wasn’t anxious because of how the actual situation was affecting me, but because of what my mind was fixed on.
God is not scared. He is not shocked. He is not anxious. He is not unprepared. Everything will be okay.
I want peace. I can be anxious and unable to do anything OR I can have peace and still be unable to do anything. I choose peace. I choose to fix my mind on God, asking him to open my eyes to see what he is doing. So I have given up the news and swapped it for fixing my mind on God. You, too, can have peace during this time by choosing what you fix your mind on - the news, or God.
I would encourage you to fix your mind on God, get in the Word, pray, remind yourself daily that God is not scared. He is not shocked. He is not anxious. He is not unprepared and everything will be okay. He has promised peace to those whose minds are fixed on Him.