A Steady Mind | Qualities of Women Who Trust Jesus

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” —Isaiah 26:3

Research in cognitive science has found that 47% of the time, our minds are wandering. Staying focused on one task for a prolonged period of time doesn’t come naturally to these brains of ours.

We start off doing a task and before we know it, we’re wondering if we took our pills that morning, which makes us think of breakfast and reminds us that we’re hungry and need to decide what to cook for dinner tonight, then we think of the grocery order we placed that needs to be picked up by 2pm, which reminds us that we forgot to order our favorite cleaning product so now we can’t scrub the shower later, which is fine because we don’t have time since we have that meeting tonight, but before we go to the meeting, we need to catch up with that friend we haven’t spoken to in over a week, which reminds us that we’re meeting up with so-and-so for coffee tomorrow at that place that has the amazing baked goods, which reminds us that we still have 10 lbs to lose!

This is an example of what scientists call “freely moving” thoughts. Contrary to what we might assume, these thoughts are actually very healthy for our brains because they cause our frontal lobes to produce alpha waves, which means that our brains have slipped into a relaxed state. Not sure how great these streams of thought are for our stress levels, but at least our brains are chillin’ out! Researchers agree that happiness levels decrease when our minds wander toward negative, ruminating thoughts, but some argue that mind-wandering can have positive effects too, since recent research has found that thoughts tend to wander toward our goals.

Isaiah 26:3 emphatically states that perfect peace will belong to those whose minds stay steady on God. The New Living Translation says it like this, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.” If we trust the Lord with our lives and keep our thoughts on Him, perfect peace will be ours.

Why, then, are we not at peace?

And what hope do we have of experiencing the perfect peace this passage promises to the steady-minded person if our minds in real life wander almost half the time?

For our minds to be steadfast and our thoughts to be fixed on God, we are not required to think about God 100% of the time. After all, God is the Designer of these brains that scientists work so hard to study. He knows, down to the millisecond, how often our minds wander and where they wander to.

The word for “steadfast” in this passage means to lay or rest. Although we are hard at work in our daily lives, trying with valiant effort to focus on the tasks God has called us to do, this scripture reminds us to always lead our thoughts back toward God. Just like parade-rest is the stance cadets go back to after a march, returning our thoughts to God’s character and truth must become our go-to stance.

We practice this through guided thoughts as well as unguided thoughts. With guided thoughts, we’re making a conscious effort to bring our minds back to God. This could happen in a moment of weakness when we pause to remind ourselves that God is strong and makes his strength available to us (Isaiah 40:29-31). It could happen in a moment of anxiety when we pause to remember that God is in control and has the power to produce good out of our situation (Romans 8:28).

Unguided thoughts, by nature, are not consciously controlled by us; they are freely moving. But if recent studies are accurate, we can increase the likelihood of our thoughts wandering toward spiritual things if we put time and attention toward spiritual goals.

Have you stopped to think about your spiritual goals recently? Or are personal, family or career goals taking center stage in your mind? Maybe it’s been a long time since you stopped to think about goals at all.

Perhaps your spiritual goals could include knowing God more intimately, becoming more familiar with the Bible, cultivating a deeper love for God, growing in obedience, or displaying more Christ-like characteristics.

When we fill our minds with the truth of scripture and keep spiritual growth as a top priority, the natural inclination to mind-wander will work to our advantage. We’ve all experienced this to some degree, like when you watch a really great movie or read a powerful book and for the next few days, your mind keeps going back to those characters or to that one amazing scene.

What we fill our minds with is what our minds will rest on.

Sister, let’s resolve to fill our minds with truth today. Read God’s word, memorize a few phrases from it, talk about it with someone, listen to music that has truth-filled lyrics. You are the steady-minded person Isaiah writes about. You are the woman who trusts the Lord and will receive His peace. You are His, and He is forming in you a steady mind.

REFERENCE:
Escalante, Alison. “New Science: Why Our Brains Spend 50% of the Time Mind-Wandering.” forbes.com, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisonescalante/2021/01/28/new-science-why-our-brains-spend-50-of-the-time-mind-wandering/?sh=196fb6804854. Accessed October 2022.

For Your Journal

Find It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a Bible verse. You can find a verse that fits a current life situation or use the one we used in today’s devotion.

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” —Isaiah 26:3

Fix It:

In this portion of your journal, pull out a few key words from the verse you chose above, or summarize the verse in your own words. Write it in pretty lettering or sketch something that will help you visualize the meaning of the verse and fix it in your mind. Repeat these words to yourself throughout the week to remind you of the truth contained in the scripture. Here are some options:

A Steady Mind

Perfect Peace

Feel It:

In this portion of your journal, write out a prayer. The goal is to absorb the meaning of the Bible passage and let it take root in your heart. Ask the Lord to let his word change you by the power of his Spirit so that you begin to feel like the new person you’re becoming in Christ. Surrender any areas of your life that you are trying to control.

Lord, it’s really comforting to know that I’m not the only one whose mind wanders. I believe that you are purposeful in your actions and that there’s meaning and beauty in the way you’ve wired my brain. Instead of fighting against it, help me to use my mind as a tool to grow closer to you. Guide my thoughts. Help me to keep my thoughts on you and to fill my mind with truth so that even my unguided thoughts will return to you and your goodness. Despite the craziness around me and the tendency of my mind to be unfocused, I trust you and believe that you are steadying my mind through your word and the power of your Spirit. Be glorified in my thoughts today. Amen.