Steadfast Minds: How to Find Peace in Chaos

You [the LORD] keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 ESV

A mind stayed on the LORD is what it takes to trust and live in peace. But often I let my heart boss around my mind. It tells me that I feel left-out, forgotten. It reminds me of hurts from the past, dreams that have not come to fruition. It doubts that anything will change or keeps me in constant fear of change. My heart imagines slights or reminds me of past failures it keeps me in doubt, fear.

Don’t get me wrong emotions are great tools to help us understand our world. They point to injustices, help us empathize, lead us to serve others. But they are fickle. Emotions can’t decide which choice is wisest because one day choice a feels right and the next choice b feels better. Emotions are gifts from God intended to help us delight in God, to trust Him. But emotions that are not controlled by a mind renewed in God’s Word bring chaos, doubt.

So how do we keep our minds steadfast on the LORD? We have to boss our emotions around. We have to tell our emotions the truth, not let our emotions guide our brains.

When we feel unnoticed, we must remind ourselves that:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31 ESV

When we doubt God loves us, we need to remember that:

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV

When we wonder how God could possibly work in a specific situation, we must remind ourselves:

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 ESV

These truths will keep our minds stayed on God and help us trust God. There in the trust is peace, freedom of having to work so hard – for God has already done the work for us. And as the chaos roams we can rest in the truth as we take captive our thoughts and boss our hearts. Sometimes this means we take medicine to help our anxiety and trust God to work through the medication. Other times this means that God’s peace will invade our souls without medication. Either way we are trusting God to work on our behalf and resting in His peace.

Father God I admit that I often let my emotions run rampant. I confess that my mind is not steadfast on You when let my emotions fly. Help me to boss my emotions. Help me to speak the truth into the chaos of life focusing on You and not my heart or my circumstances. Help me to experience Your peace as I train my mind to trust in You. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.