Muddled Minds

To 'reflect' one must realize the power of the mind to direct the course of action one's mind actually takes within that time of 'reflection'. What our minds contemplate may be quite different than what we intended as we began that time of reflection, being influenced by what we have seen and heard earlier, or whatever makes demands upon our thoughts at the moment. We tend to have a hard time 'reflecting' today because of the varying number of distractions we have that vie for our attention, don't we? I find the night hours can be the most troublesome at times, being awake for hours 'contemplating' something that is 'worrying' my mind. Rather than 'contemplating' our worries, it would be best to let God take those and contemplate his instructions or promises instead!

Your decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived. I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions. (Psalm 119:54-55)

I often use the term 'cogitate' when I want to get the point across that I need time to reflect upon something that is troubling me, or that I need time to ponder how it is a solution could be found. When we 'cogitate', we are envisioning a certain way a thing is or could be. We see it this way, then that way, until we have dissected it into 'manageable pieces'. An apt word we use today to describe this process is 'brainstorming'. It is as though our brains are mulling through all the ideas, envisioning this or that, then we kick out the bad ones and keep ruminating on the better ones. Sometimes God's word can do that within our thoughts - helping us consider all the different ways we have been handling life's challenges, all the while helping us to 'kick out' the bad ways and focus on the better ones.

Obedience doesn't have to be difficult, but if we refuse to take the time to allow reflection upon his word, there is really nothing to help us sort out the stuff we need to 'kick out' of our minds. We retain way too much 'stuff' in our brains that doesn't need to be influencing our decisions, don't we? Things we see on TV, hear at work, listen to on the radio, see in print, or just 'make up' because we don't understand what is happening. We make obedience more difficult when we don't allow times of reflection upon his word to 'sort out' the stuff that needs to go and cement the stuff that needs to remain. Reflection is a time when our minds are being made healthier. We need these times more than we might realize. I set aside time each day for a bit of reflection. How about you? If it is not a habit with you yet, why not begin today? The time you take today to sort out the stuff that just muddles up the mind might just be the beginning of something good! Just sayin!

Sometimes being 'grounded' isn't all that bad!

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:27-31)

Complaining that God seems to be looking the other way when you need his attention right now? Do you think he has abandoned you to some state of misery or woe that you won't be able to overcome? We all have been there at least once, and if we were honest, we'd admit we come to this place a little too often before we realize God never abandons us. We may not hear him as clearly, see how he is moving in the muddle we are in, or be strong in our faith that he is right there beside us, but he never lets us walk through stuff alone. There were times when my kids were little that I'd suddenly realize I couldn't hear them anymore, and I just knew they were likely into some type of mischief! In my losing track of what they were doing, they took full advantage of getting into something they knew they weren't supposed to be into - like pulling the toilet paper all off the roll in a huge pile around them on the floor or dumping out all the baby powder and then proceeding to paint themselves with it! Good news - God doesn't "lose track" of his kids! If we wander into places of "mischief" in our lives, he is right there ready to correct us, redirect us, or recommission us.

There is power in waiting on the Lord to renew our souls, yet so many of us just wander around without the power we could tap into if we'd just take a few moments to wait upon him. It is in "waiting upon" him that we find the "energizing" for the task which lies ahead. Maybe if we learned how to "wait upon" a little better, we might not feel like we are "out on our own" in so many of life's circumstances. To wait means to exchange - we exchange our strength for his, our wisdom for his, our energy for his. The knowledge to do it his way rather than our own is only found in the waiting. The strength to do what is just ahead is only found in the moment of exchange. If this is where the "exchange" happens, we need to learn how to "wait upon" as our "first option" rather than our "bail out" option! There is wisdom in waiting just a little bit before you take your first step, isn't there? What probably should have occurred to us by now is that we don't survive alone! Like it or not, we are not designed to live alone - we are designed for relationship. We are "relational" creatures. So many of us try to walk out this daily existence of our Christian faith alone and wonder why we find ourselves feeling lonely, abandoned, and without a shred of hope to hang onto. 

In the place of feeling kind of abandoned, we veer away from the principles we know to be true. We try something completely different from what we know is reliable, trustworthy, and upright. Whenever I have veered from the principles I have learned through scripture, I've been burned! We can live by all kinds of "good philosophy", but philosophy is just not going to cut it because the basic premise of any philosophy is to improve upon it. God's Word cannot be improved upon! It is more than philosophy - it is tried and true - nothing can be added, nothing taken away. When we gravitate toward living by some type of "philosophy" in our lives, we are more susceptible to living by the culture of the day in which we live. Society says if it feels good, doesn't appear to hurt anyone, and seems to carry some sense of reward for the one doing it, then it is okay to pursue. Just because it feels good to eat a chocolate bar each day doesn't make it good for a person who is struggling with their weight! Just because my actions don't seem to outwardly hurt another, I cannot overlook the fact that someone is watching, and they may be affected by those actions without my even knowing it! 

Allow God's words to get "worked into" the fibers of our lives, then we will have something upon we can rely upon when we are faced with those moments of decision in life. We are only able to stand - or withstand - when we have the right foundation. The right foundation is never based upon something which needs improvement! It is based upon that which cannot be improved upon! This is why we need to get the Word of God into us - it gives us the stability of standing upon what cannot be improved upon! Too many times we "improvise" in this life. To really learn what it is we are designed to live by, we need time to wait upon God. In seeking God, you find yourself - for he designed you! In seeking him, you are free to be who he made you to be. Discovery comes in waiting upon - not just in waiting, but in waiting upon. In the most literal sense, the difference is in the activity level of each. Waiting bespeaks inactivity - waiting upon refers to a level of activity or involvement. When we wait upon God, we aren't just passively standing by until he says move. We are engaging in what we know to do - like prayer, time in the Word, taking the steps of faith we know to take, then patiently listening for the wisdom about the steps we don't know how to take yet. When we engage with him, he engages with us. It is active waiting God is directing us toward, not passivity. Just sayin!

Tell him what you think...go ahead

So tell me what you think. Look at the evidence. Put your heads together. Make your case. Who told you, and a long time ago, what’s going on here? Who made sense of things for you? Wasn’t I the one? God? It had to be me. I’m the only God there is—The only God who does things right and knows how to help. So turn to me and be helped—saved!—everyone, whoever and wherever you are. I am God, the only God there is, the one and only. I promise in my own name: Every word out of my mouth does what it says. I never take back what I say. Everyone is going to end up kneeling before me. Everyone is going to end up saying of me, ‘Yes! Salvation and strength are in God!’” (Isaiah 45:32-23)

When we 'get' to say all we want to say, it is not always what you might want to have anyone else hear! Sometimes you actually learn things about yourself - other times you learn things about the other person - and sometimes you learn things about other people not even involved in the conversation! Imagine being in the most "open" and "sharing" of relationships with someone. I like to call this a relationship with transparency and intimacy - the freedom to share your heart. You are able to share things which you might not want to share with other people, right? I think God gives an open door to each of us to enter into this type of relationship with him. We can come boldly into his presence, sit right down and "unload" even the deepest and darkest of secrets - all with the confidence of knowing he will take what we say only as far as OUR relationship! It stays there because he knows the value of this type of sharing - it is the closest of heart-sharing and means there is "strength" and "stability" in the relationship. Imagine God speaking to the hungering heart - one just looking for someone with whom they may have this type of close and stable relationship - the place of sharing just between two. God opens the door for conversation. 

Sometimes we believe WE have to be the ones to open the door! The truth is God has already done the deed of opening up to us, just so we can enjoy the privilege of opening up to him! He then asks us to tell him what we think. God knows what we will say before we say it - he is all-knowing (omniscient). Even though he already knows everything about us, there is something about being open in our communication which he encourages and even allows! Even when it is some complaint, frustration, anger, fear, or even regret. What I think God does in our times of open communication with him is to actually help us "examine the evidence" revealed in our words. He loves hearing our voice - even the "voices in our heads". Yet, in the outward speaking of the words, WE are actually the ones who begin to see a revelation of truth we might not have seen before. Have you ever began to complain about something, then without really realizing it, you begin to see the selfishness in your complaint, or maybe the emotional response you had which was actually an "over-reaction" to the moment? I have! The more I speak, the clearer it becomes that the words I am speaking kind of get "sorted out" in the process of speaking them. If you have ever watched one of those crime scene shows, what do the detectives always do? They talk things out together! Why? In the "talking it out" phase the evidence becomes a little clearer and truthfully, two heads are ALWAYS better than one.

God wants us to know we don't have to "figure things out" on own - he is the one who makes sense of the matter! We might begin to see the evidence, putting piece one together with piece two, but he makes all the pieces come together in perfect order. God is the only one who knows how the fit - so why is it we avoid bringing the pieces to him? We often struggle with being open with him because of our shame over what the "pieces" represent. The truth is, the shame is really "self-imposed" - God is not associating our broken pieces with shame, but with grace. Shame is OUR feeling - nothing we "feel" about our brokenness causes God to feel "shame" - the inward feeling produced by guilt that we deal with. God asks us to plainly allow him to assist us to see the evidence - not to bring us shame, but to set us free from guilt and, in turn, to set us free from the "feelings" associated with our guilt. When we begin to examine the evidence of our actions - communicating openly and honestly about them, we often find the greatest challenge comes in letting go of the "emotion" associated with the past actions. God's encouraging words to us - turn to me and be helped! God's words to you and I are to turn to him - to come face-to-face with him - opening the way for the embrace. It is WHERE we position ourselves which makes it possible for him to help. Open arms don't do us any good if we remain shut off to their embrace - shame has no way of being removed until grace embraces the "evidence" of wrongdoing in our lives!

God actually listens - then he talks to us! At first, God has to listen a lot, because it takes us time to realize our "talking" is kind of like a cathartic action. When we finally get it all out - he is there to pick up the pieces, sorting them out carefully, and then revealing what it is he hopes we will get out of the time we have spent together. He may speak back just a simple, "Thank you!" Why? Simply because he has waited for us to be THAT honest with him for a long time. He may speak back a word of encouragement, "I understand". Why? It is because his Son walked this earth and DOES understand the pain we experience. He may speak back some "action words", telling us clearly what steps we take next. Why? He asks for us to take what we have learned and put it into action in our lives. It is not because he judges us, but because he knows just how much those actions will bring us closer to the evidence of Christ within us! Next time you need to get it off your chest, you might just want to start with the one who will help you sort out the evidence, come to the realization of truth, and then actually assist you put the truth into action! Just sayin!

Meditate on this

May the words that come out of my mouth and the musings of my heart meet with Your gracious approval, O Eternal, my Rock, O Eternal, my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 VOICE)

How would you describe the "musings of your heart"? For many of us these are unfulfilled dreams, wishes for things to be a little different than how they are right now, or a change to come that would somehow "kick things into action" in our lives that seem to be at a standstill right now. Did you know the meaning of "musing" is really "meditation"? Did you know the meaning of "meditation" is really the process of spending time in quiet thought? This passage is a prayer - that God would help the one praying it to bring forth words that honor, build up rather than tear down, and reveal the right "meditation" is occurring deep in one's heart.

As I get older, hopefully I am also getting wiser. One of the things I think leads us into developing wisdom in our lives is this process of spending time in quiet thought. I don't always speak what I am thinking, but I do spend a great deal of time in quiet thought. Why? It is the place God helps me sort out all the challenges my brain and emotions are presenting to me in the course of the day. It is the time I am able to consider the various components of the complexity of the situation and see them for what they are - if they are as they seem, or are there other things to be considered before I take a particular course of action. 

I used to hear the word "meditation" and think it requires a yoga mat, incense, and a little mantra of some kind. I have come to appreciate it is merely the musings of my heart, submitted to the counsel of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. The "process" of meditation isn't the location, the "mood" set, or the "position" one's body assumes. It is the ability to bring the thoughts captive for a moment or two, settle the emotions, and allow the "process" of being quiet to sort out the truth from the untruth, the wisest choice from the others. If you are "anti-meditation", think again. God advocates for us to quiet ourselves - if not outwardly, at least inwardly! The quiet is where we hear his voice!

While I don't advocate that kind of "mantra meditation" practiced by some, I do advocate for the quiet place of meditative thought becoming the place God can bring order out of our chaos. It often catches me off-guard to find I didn't even consider coming at something I have been struggling with in a particular manner until I get quiet long enough to "process the issue" with God's help. It is as though I suddenly see the solution to the problem because he begins to help me see the "order" in the problem. Sometimes it isn't that we don't have the solution to the problem, it is that we don't have the right "order" to the problem. We have things out of sequence and therefore, we are not getting at the solution! God is a God of order. Quieting ourselves long enough to allow him to help us bring the issues we are struggling with into "right order" is certainly not wasted time!  Just sayin!

Throw me another bone, please!

I haven't had a dog in years now, but I remember the extreme joy and passion my pooch would exhibit whenever I brought home a bone for her.  She'd waggle every part of her hind quarters and tail, almost trembling in delight over the promised ecstasy of the treat.  For hours, she'd gnaw away at that treat, savoring each and every morsel.  In short order, the bone would be picked clean of any sign of grizzle, remaining meat, and even sometimes much of the bone itself would be chewed down.  I'd hear her working on that thing for hours - sometimes having to take it away from her at night just so we'd be able to get to sleep!  She'd always see where I'd put it up out of her reach, knowing full-well where to find it the next day.  There she'd be sitting as soon as I woke up - ready to take on the task of chewing on it again.  Such persistence and perseverance.  I wonder if we have this same kind of reaction to God's Word?

Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue.  His heart pumps God’s Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat’s.  (Psalm 37:30-31 MSG)

Our psalmist points out this type of "tenacity" as being evident in a believer's consideration of the wisdom God provides and the integrity which is revealed in our speech.  We are to "chew on" wisdom like a dog takes on the bone.  What are some of the things I pointed out about my dog's encounter with the bone?  First - there was excitement which could barely be contained.  I wonder if we exhibit much excitement over the wisdom God brings into our lives?  Second - there was the "show" of interest in what was provided.  As she'd waggle her entire rear end, I knew she was going to take great delight in this treat.  I wonder if God sees any "show" of interest in what he provides on a daily basis in our lives.  The "treat" for my dog was occasional - God's "treats" are continual.  Third - her constant effort to "pick apart" the morsels of meat and grizzle left on that bone were evident in watching her turn it over and over, holding it close to her, sometimes changing positions so she'd get the right "grip" on it.  I wonder if we ever do that with God's truth in our lives - "repositioning" ourselves so we get a "better grip" on it.

We are also to "roll" virtue around on our tongue.  In other words, our speech is to reflect the integrity (uprightness) of the wisdom we have been taking in. I notices something after my dog had spent a few hours with her bone - her breath usually smelled better.  Why?  The turning over of the bone time and time again, and the constant chewing of the bone provided a cleansing effect for her teeth.  I think God's Word "rolled over our tongues" time and time again has a way of "cleaning up" what comes out of our mouths!  

Being a nurse, I really get the idea of blood coursing through the veins - steadily moving because of the "pumping power" of the heart itself.  Without the heart moving it, the blood becomes stagnant - it cannot come back to the place where it is "restored" and "revitalized".  You see, blood enters the heart and lungs to become re-oxygenated.  If it remained away from the heart and lungs, it would not carry much life.  As it passes through the liver and kidneys, it is "cleaned up" so it can go back to finding impurities, bringing them again to the "filtering stations" in the body, all the while assisting the body in keeping impurities from adversely building up.  Veins are like highways - they sometimes get "blockages".  If the veins are not well-maintained, these blockages can actually stop the flow of blood.  So, if we want to have a health "flow" of blood, we take care of the "highways".  I think we must pay as much attention to what "pumps" through our minds - the "spiritual and emotional" heart, so to speak.  If we don't allow God's word to permeate our minds, the "filters" we need to remove the impurities in our thoughts, words, and actions will not be there.  If we don't have a regular intake of his Word, the "highways" of our mind and spirit will soon become clogged with stuff just giving us "blockages" we cannot ignore forever.

I have also had cats.  Those amazing critters seem to be able to climb the walls and walk across some of the thinnest objects with the greatest of ease. Their tiny paws curving to grip the surface upon which they traverse.  Two things strike me about the cat - their ability to "bound" and their "balance".  They can be seen "bounding" straight up into the air, overcoming the space between them and their desired object.  The purpose of their "bound" is both to pursue and to attain.  They are eagerly "after" an object of their interest, or they are seeking a new vantage point.  Both are lessons we'd do well to learn.  Their ability to balance is also almost beyond our understanding - but if you know anything about cats, you know they have this amazing ability to "right" themselves even when they are falling.  There is a "tuning in" to where their head is in respect to their feet.  If their head is facing up, their feet will always be securely facing down!  

So, just some little trinkets to ponder today.  Let them muddle in your mind a while today and see if God can use any of them to speak to you.  In essence, as we study together, we are chewing on the Word like a dog chews on a bone!  Just sayin!

Settle that Storm!

Brainstorming:  A technique for solving problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, or developing new ideas, by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion.  If you have ever been part of a "brainstorming" session in a large group, you know you can generate a whole bunch of ideas in a short period of time using this technique.  Yet, I find we don't always get the best from the most - we often get the best when we are able to filter it down to the least.  For example, when we have to choose between cookies on a platter, there may be ten different varieties.  The one "creating" the platter wanted to have a "selection" of all possible choices.  The one eating the cookies may have one thing in mind - satisfy my craving for chocolate and peanut butter!  The cookie-eater zeros in on exactly what will fulfill - not all the other sweets on the platter!

We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. (Proverbs 19:21 MSG)

This proverb really tells us a great deal about how we humans interact with God and others.  First, we have all kinds of options and formulate all manner of plans.  It is like we have this continual "brainstorming" session going on in our mind!  We throw up ideas, often without much calculation, and see if any of them "sound okay" for us to be pursuing.  The danger comes in us "throwing up" so many ideas!  Have you ever had too many options?  What the brainstorming does is leave us in a mess - chaotic thought produces chaotic behavior.  By the very definition of the word "brainstorm" we see two things - the center of thought and the chaos it brings!  Our brain is the center of thought - as such, it is the place of understanding.  Now, add too much thought into the picture and you get the idea of a "storm" effect - you really don't know where the next thought will come from or what it will reveal!

Options and plans - doesn't this really reveal the idea of liking to have all our options available totally in a row before we start a thing?  We are constantly working out the "if-then" scenarios.  If this happens, then I will go this direction; if that happens, then this is the course I will pursue.  The danger in all this is the possibility of not getting God's direction before we make the choices which will set things in motion in our lives.

My brain shuts down after a while - I think it is kind of like a "preserving" factor.  When I get on "overload" because of too much "brain-storm" activity, I shut down!  Oh, I don't drift into some catatonic state, but I do withdraw, find a place to center myself, and just spend some time getting things settled again.  When too much chaos abounds, I just cannot function well.  If my friends have observed me for a while, they see the more demands made of me, the quieter I become.  Why?  My brain is on "overload" and I just need to get focused again!  

In examining our proverb this morning, let's not forget what Solomon says - the brainstorming and planning is okay, but there is a bigger purpose behind every choice!  God prevails!  He is the "force" which settles the storm - he doesn't contribute to it!  If you have ever been in the midst of a "brain-storm" of massive proportion, you might not recognize the source of the storm, but it is clearly NOT God.  His actions are those of peace, order, and pre-eminence.  There is but one purpose - to keep God first in our lives.  The "storm" settles when we get this right.  

I don't know about you, but as this Christmas is upon us, I want to take a few moments to "settle the storm" and to just focus on the one who makes this entire season of celebration a reality - Jesus!  We can get so caught up in all the plans and preparations so as to miss the meaning of it all.  Take some time today, center yourself again, allow the winds to die down in that brain of yours.  This is our chance to connect with him - his presence can prevail - but we need to give him access!  The best of our plans and the wisest of our schemes just pales in comparison to getting close to him!  Just sayin!  Merry Christmas all!

Bite-sized morsels

I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you've done it.  I relish everything you've told me of life, I won't forget a word of it.

(Psalm 119:15-16 The Message)

Are you a "ponder-er"?  If you are one who turns things over and over until you get a better understanding of the object you are considering, then you are a "ponder-er".  To ponder means that you consider something deeply and thoroughly.  It involves the mind, but it also relies on the involvement of the emotions in the process.  It comes from a Latin word that means to "weigh".  Some of us might say that we are "reflecting" on an idea - we are simply pondering that idea (weighing the pros and cons).

David tells us that he has become a "ponder-er" of God's wisdom - that which comes from his Word.  He has learned to "put to the test" the ideas he has running through his mind, those things that are affecting his emotions, by "weighing" them against God's Word.  There is no better "scale" to measure our ideas against!  

Part of pondering is the idea of directing our attention toward whatever it is we are considering.  There is focus - not just haphazard consideration - but determined attention toward the object of our reflection.  David has the most important thing to him is the "using" of the counsel God gives to make decisions about his life.  It is more important to him to "use" what God gives than to have all the riches in the world.

I wonder if that is the respect we have for the counsel of God.  Is it a standard by which we "ponder" on life's decisions?  To David, the Word had become the standard by which he made decisions.  It is the process of "pondering" that actually brings us to a place where we "learn" the Word.  This allows us to have the Word available when we need it - not forgetting it.  

David is very clear - God's Word is not taken into our minds in huge quantities.  It is pondered by the "morsels".  A morsel is a small bit - some call it a tidbit.  It is like a bite-sized candy bar - just enough to give you a taste, but not enough to send you into a diabetic coma!  God's Word is "bite-sized".  We take it in one morsel at a time - pondering the morsel until we find deep satisfaction in it.  That is how it begins to be something we come to relish.

When we relish something, we have developed a "taste" for it.  Many don't have a well-developed "taste" for God's Word.  Perhaps this is because when it is mixed with so many other things we "take in" right along with it, we don't get a full appreciation of the "taste"!  I like coffee.  My daughter likes creamer.   I like a little creamer in my coffee.  My daughter likes a little coffee in her creamer.  We have each developed a different "taste" for coffee.  Does the coffee change?  No, just our appreciation for the taste of that which is produced by either the focus on the coffee or the creamer!

We need to develop our ability to ponder.  Pondering is not easy because we have so many distractions.  We also need to develop our habits of "intake".  We often consume in quantities that are not easily digested - God desires that we take his Word in bite-sized morsels.  In the morsels, we develop a "taste" for his Word - an appreciation of the hidden truths deep within.

So, ponder with me today.  Enjoy the morsels God gives.  Develop a taste for the good things God reveals in his Word.  Great delight is found not in the consuming of the Word, but in the pondering of its taste!