August 20

We allow our minds to wander. Even when we’re at work and required to be focused, we often find our minds running through the maze of thoughts, worries, hopes, plans and schemes we have ‘percolating’ in our heads. Our mental gymnastics would benefit us greatly were it possible to account them to our physical exercise regimen!

Why do we entertain so many diverse thoughts? Why can we not relax from our contemplations even when we lie upon our beds at night? Why do we toss and turn, trying to find the ‘right’ position while reflecting upon the events of our day and our plans for tomorrow?

The Bible offers an answer to these questions in Isaiah 26:3. It says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Whether we realize it or not, much of our anxiety springs from the fact that we bear the load of responsibility for our lives rather than trusting the Lord to assume it. We take upon our own shoulders the cares He has offered to bear.

We race around in circles in our thoughts, trying to find one that affords us a modicum of peace--a comfortable place to rest. We chase ideas that might enable us to achieve that measure of success that has always been just beyond our grasp. But if we would simply trust Jesus in all life’s circumstances, the resultant peace He’d provide would allow our mental gymnastics to stop.