A Guarded Mind

As many of you may know, I AM no stranger to suicidal ideation.  I’m no stranger to feeling like life would be better for me if it ended.  No stranger at all.
I’ve had a lot of material things in my lifetime.  I know what it is to have all the money you need.  I know what it is to not want for a single thing.  I know a few famous people.  I have traveled a whole lot in my lifetime.  I had all of these things going for myself, but I hadn’t allowed myself to have the one thing I so desperately needed: peace.  Not just any type of peace, though.  I’m talking about the peace of God.You see, some peace is just the absence of chaos.  So, when you’re in a hurricane, the front of the storm comes and you have chaos.  The eye of the storm comes and you have peace.  The back end of the storm comes and you have chaos.  But when you have the peace of God, it doesn’t matter what comes or goes.  You have peace in the front of the storm, during the eye, during the end of the storm, and every day after the storm.  It’s a peace that can’t be given or taken away by anyone or anything in this world.  God’s peace.  

Philippians 4:6-8 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.   And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.“

There is a peace that God gives that will literally guard your heart and mind.  That is the peace you need to ask God for.  Why?  Because when your mind is guarded, that means that any and everything won’t have the ability to penetrate your mind.  It means that negative thoughts won’t be able to linger.  It means that negative conversations won’t be able to take root.  It means that you won’t be pondering the bad things your family or so-called friends may have said about you.  How do I know this?  Because when your mind is guarded, you can focus on other things.

It’s kind of like when you get a new security system at your house.  You don’t have to worry about someone coming to the door and trying to get in without you realizing it.  Why?  Because you know that as long as your security system is activated the moment someone tries to break in, help will be called, and they will soon be on the way.  The peace of God is like that, but it’s even better.  Why?  Because the Bible says that when you are in the midst of trouble, God is a present help (Psalm 64:1).  Present.  Not “on the way”.  Present.  Remember, before you can even call on God, God is already there.  Isaiah 64:24 says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.“  God is ALWAYS around.

It is so important to allow God to guard your mind.  It saves so much energy.  It keeps us free to focus on what we need to focus on.  What are we supposed to focus on?  The scripture tells us.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  The peace is yours for the asking, but this is how you maintain it.  Think on these things.  

The world will hurl things at you all day, every day.  Every Monday or Tuesday, the media gives the masses something to argue about.  A dress, an engagement ring, a video, a mother disciplining her child – SOMETHING.  And every week, people spend a good two days arguing, and then by the end of the week, everyone has forgotten about whatever it was.  Pay attention.  It happens every week.  If I were you, I would stop falling into the trap.  Allow your mind to be guarded so that you can focus on what really matters in the long run.  A guarded mind is one of the best things you could ever receive from God.

I’d love to hear about how your life changes once you make the choice to live your life in the peace of God.  Be sure to hit me up and let me know how it goes!

Have an amazing day today.  Show love to yourself AND others.  Be GREAT!  I speak life to you and everyone and everything connected to you!  Catch me tomorrow!