When My Mind is Shaken

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled. 2Thessalonians 2:1,2 (New King James Version)

The believers at Thessalonica had become unsettled and disturbed because of false teaching. Someone had them convinced Jesus had returned and they had missed it. But what was disturbing them was a lie and Paul was used of God to expose the lie and reconnect them to the truth. His passion and desire for them was a mirror of God’s heart.

Like the Thessalonians, each of us have times when we become ‘shaken in mind and disturbed.’ There are times when various things agitate us, cause us to totter, over throw us, disturb us, or cast us down from our secure and happy places. What is it that shakes you up or casts you down? For me, it is any number of things. My world of calm, quiet contentment can take a nose dive when interruptions come, condemning thoughts surface, comparison to others enters, depravation shows itself, or any number of my heart issues are exposed. Anything that reveals my own emptiness and sinfulness can put me in a mental maze of turmoil. But I don’t have to stay that way. Paul’s answers to the Thessalonians become my compass and roadmap as well.

Later in verses 15-17, they are encouraged to stand fast and hold on to what they have been taught. It is a continual necessity! Each one of us must make it our daily practice to review and remember the many things God has taught us through His Word and through other believers. Those truths and principles have a stabilizing effect on us. But we must also allow God to give us the strength and comfort we need along the way.

Last night, I found it necessary once again to acknowledge the cavity of my own soul and ask for His balm of peace to anoint me. He began to reveal the lies I was believing and offered me the truth to counter them. A resettling came as I embraced His words. I then listened to music that once again filled me with a sense of His presence and person. Sleep came quickly and I woke with a renewed hope in the God of my journey.

I have long ago given up the naive belief that in this life I could live on a continual spiritual high where nothing touches or affects me negatively. The truth is that I possess a sin nature and the enemy of my soul is continually prowling and looking for ways to bring me down. But that is not the end of the story or even the complete picture. For above all that, my Heavenly Father walks with me, talks with me, and carries me. I am not alone…I am His.

Father, I am learning to call out to you more quickly and more often. I take comfort and delight in the fact that You hear even the faintest whispers of my heart. Amen.

He Is Not Finished

May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NASB

I find that my personal struggles center more in my thoughts and mindsets than in any other area of my life. No wonder Jesus so clearly stated, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” I have spent a life time gathering information and yet the bottom line still comes down to what I believe in the very depths of my heart. I have come to the place where I can now divide my thought patterns into three categories….what I believe about God, what I believe about myself, and what I believe about other people. For some people they would have other categories but these are mine.

Three years ago God began to help me see where my thoughts were untrue about Himself. He has led me on a progressive journey with Himself to help me come to know Him, His character, His heart, and His ways in a manner that is encouraging and precious. I do not view Him in the same way as I did for decades. Along with that journey He has begun to help me clear up some thinking pertaining to myself. This involves finding the root causes for self-condemnation, shame, and self-loathing. It has never been His intent that I would see myself any differently than He sees me. Although I don’t fully have these two areas transformed, He has also begun to help me examine my view of others.

This part is difficult because I am so use to interpreting other people’s words, actions, and absence through the grid of my own perceptions. The more significant the person the more condemning my thoughts seem to be. Again, He will begin to reveal to me the root causes for these mindsets. Relational issues can have us in as strong a bondage as any drug. Am I free yet? No. Will I be? Absolutely! Because He has promised to finish what He starts in my life.
I do not have to succumb to the thoughts that things will never change, life will never look different. Our God is interested in my progress, freedom, and change. He is my biggest cheerleader and source of transformation. And He is most certainly the One directing my heart toward Himself.

Father, You know where I still need freedom. If it were left up to me I wouldn’t have the strength or ability to free myself. I once again look to You to do Your work in me. Amen.