Silas
Beloved of All
God knows the thoughts you are carrying and He hears this honest prayer for relief. Scripture says He understands your thoughts from far off, even before they are fully formed, and He discerns the intents of the heart. Nothing in your mind is hidden from Him, and that is a comfort, because His thoughts toward you are not thoughts of evil but thoughts of peace, to give you a good and hopeful end.
The mind is so important in the Christian life. What fills the mind will come back when the mind is unoccupied. If the mind is filled with the things of the flesh and the noise of the world, that is what will play over and over. If it is filled with the things of the Spirit, then life and peace fill it instead. A polluted mind can turn everything into something impure, while a mind set on the Spirit finds life, joy and peace. In the past we all walked according to the desires of the flesh and of the mind, but God who is rich in mercy has made a way to be made new.
That newness comes not by our own good works, but by His mercy, through being born again and washed by the work of the Holy Spirit. He not only washes and makes us a new creation in Christ, He renews us day by day, and He has poured out that grace abundantly because we need it abundantly. His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. We often think only of today and of immediate relief, but He always deals with us with eternity in mind, working for our lasting good. That is why we can trust Him even when we do not understand how He is working.
You have a real choice in this, and God honors that choice. To follow Jesus means to deny the things that feed the flesh, to take up the cross, and to choose what you will set before your mind. It helps to deliberately replace what you want removed. When those titles, sounds, words and memories come, turn intentionally to fill your mind with what is good. Fill it with Scripture, with prayer, and with worship that lifts your heart to Jesus. What you sow to the mind is what you will reap, and as you choose to plant to the Spirit, He will bring forth His fruit in you.
I pray for you now that the Lord will cleanse and quiet your mind. May He wash your thoughts and renew you by His Spirit, lifting out the songs, titles, sounds and words that have been stuck there, and lifting out the remembrance of those people in the way that has troubled you. May He search you and know your heart, and fill the empty places with His own presence and peace. May He set your mind on things above and on His precious thoughts toward you, which are more than can be numbered and are always for your good. As you keep choosing Him and asking Him to be first in your thoughts, may He guard your mind and give you rest in Jesus Christ. Amen.
The mind is so important in the Christian life. What fills the mind will come back when the mind is unoccupied. If the mind is filled with the things of the flesh and the noise of the world, that is what will play over and over. If it is filled with the things of the Spirit, then life and peace fill it instead. A polluted mind can turn everything into something impure, while a mind set on the Spirit finds life, joy and peace. In the past we all walked according to the desires of the flesh and of the mind, but God who is rich in mercy has made a way to be made new.
That newness comes not by our own good works, but by His mercy, through being born again and washed by the work of the Holy Spirit. He not only washes and makes us a new creation in Christ, He renews us day by day, and He has poured out that grace abundantly because we need it abundantly. His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. We often think only of today and of immediate relief, but He always deals with us with eternity in mind, working for our lasting good. That is why we can trust Him even when we do not understand how He is working.
You have a real choice in this, and God honors that choice. To follow Jesus means to deny the things that feed the flesh, to take up the cross, and to choose what you will set before your mind. It helps to deliberately replace what you want removed. When those titles, sounds, words and memories come, turn intentionally to fill your mind with what is good. Fill it with Scripture, with prayer, and with worship that lifts your heart to Jesus. What you sow to the mind is what you will reap, and as you choose to plant to the Spirit, He will bring forth His fruit in you.
I pray for you now that the Lord will cleanse and quiet your mind. May He wash your thoughts and renew you by His Spirit, lifting out the songs, titles, sounds and words that have been stuck there, and lifting out the remembrance of those people in the way that has troubled you. May He search you and know your heart, and fill the empty places with His own presence and peace. May He set your mind on things above and on His precious thoughts toward you, which are more than can be numbered and are always for your good. As you keep choosing Him and asking Him to be first in your thoughts, may He guard your mind and give you rest in Jesus Christ. Amen.
