MINDFUL OF THE RIGHT THINGS

Nehemiah 9:17 (NKJV) They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. (NIV) They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,

I wonder what your mind is full of at the minute? Perhaps it’s full of Sport, or full of everything you have to cram into your day? Maybe it’s full of confusion or worry, or you’re angry with a situation or even angry with God? Or maybe your mind is full of the holidays to come and all your lovely plans; full of gratefulness for being alive and mindful you’re loved by God?

Whatever it is our mind is full of, God wants it to be full of acknowledging His presence in our lives, of the goodness and kindness He has poured out on us, of the wonders of His world around us, full of the knowledge that He will never forsake us, and of His loving care.

When our minds are full of all the right things we have peace in our spirit, we have the deep down joy that comes from knowing who we are in Christ. We can remember we’re beloved and accepted and approved by God because of Jesus, that we have been given the name of Jesus, which is above every other name, and He has given us His authority to use it to bring down strongholds in our lives.

Society is big on ‘Mindfulness’ at the minute - it’s fashionable! But God’s mindfulness is not fashionable, it’s essential for our walk of faith in Christ. When we’re mindful of all the blessings of God, when we give thanks, when we rehearse His goodness in our lives, then our mindfulness will produce the fruit of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.😊

God is reminding us to be mindful of Him today, so let’s ask for His help to clear our minds of the things that distract us and aren’t helpful, and instead let’s choose to fill our minds in the coming days with the goodness and kindness of our God, with the wonders of His grace, the amazing gift of His righteousness and who He has made us to be in Jesus.😊 Amen.

Photo by Léonard Cotte on Unsplash

A BAG OF POTATOES

1 Peter 5:7 AMP casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].    

Have you tried lifting a big bag of potatoes lately? If you have you’ll know how heavy it is, especially if you have to carry it very far, as a friend of mine shared with me recently!😊

In the same way, life can feel like we’re carrying a very heavy bag, not of potatoes, but of burdens and cares that are just too heavy for us. They may be worries about family situations, or big health issues, perhaps they’re financial burdens and all of them seem to weigh us down, growing heavier and heavier the longer we hold on to them. When something happens that’s ‘another’ thing to worry about, it can feel like it’s the last straw that breaks the camel’s back!

A bag of potatoes is full of individual potatoes but when they’re all together they seem much heavier. Maybe your worries are not all big. Perhaps you think you can handle some of them on your own but God never intended us to carry any of them, regardless of how big or small they may be! He said to cast all our cares!😊

I read some good advice a long time ago, where it said to write down each ‘worry’ on a piece of paper. Then see yourself hand it over to our loving Father because He loves us so deeply and He’s the only One with shoulders big enough to carry it all. Then rip the piece of paper up into pieces and put it in the waste bin. You’ve handed them over!

It means they are now in God’s ‘IN’ box, they’re no longer in our bag of cares, no longer our burden but His, and we can have confidence knowing He is dealing with each and every one of them in His time and in His way and He will help us with our part in it all. When the enemy comes and whispers in our ear, “What about so and so”, we can tell him we’ve handed that care over to God and it’s not our burden any more.

Let’s read it again - 1 Peter 5:7 AMP casting all your cares (all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares about you (with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully).    

If your cares are weighing you down and maybe you can’t sleep, then the Holy Spirit is encouraging us all to know it’s time to hand those things over to our Good Shepherd and trust Him to sort them out, and as we do, allow His peace to fill our souls and enter the rest Jesus bought and paid for, for us.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Mads Eneqvist on Unsplash