Be Clear-Minded

"And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her'."  Luke 10:41-42.

What thoughts are filling your mind today?  Where is the allegiance of those thoughts?  I heard a sermon on worry once that said the Greek word for worry means to "divide the mind".  When my mind is anxious, I can't fully love the Lord with all of my mind.  When my mind is out of it, my heart and spirit will follow.  

I'm not much of a worrier when it comes to worldly things.  I have, however, recently discovered a great source of anxiety - my own agenda.  I was in Dallas recently, visiting my in-laws for Christmas.  I had absolutely no agenda or plans for most of the time I was there.  And it was some of the best time I've spent with God in a long time.  I had nothing to take my thoughts away from Him.  It was true, unhindered intimacy with God.  He spoke great and powerful things to me.  And I was able to hear Him because my mind was clear and at ease.

In one version of 1 Peter 4:7, Peter says, "Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray."  Self-control is often taught, but clear mindedness is a forgotten practice.  It's almost impossible to be clear minded and live a normal American-cultured life, but the Lord did not direct me to conform to a culture.  The sad thing about our culture is that it has enabled us to justify a lot of our busyness.  Most of our busyness seems harmless, but it divides our mind from Christ.  This is why Paul says that we should "aspire to lead a quiet life" (1 Thess 4:11) - so that we can turn our thoughts to Jesus. 

The Lord has shown me that the only time I can truly seek Him is when I lay down my agenda, concerns, and worries and let Him fully invade my thoughts.  I have the power and authority to do this, as I wrote about in a previous post.  He has given me a sound mind (not ADD) so that I can fully focus all of my thoughts on Him.  Ask Him that He would show you how to fully train and equip your mind so that you can enter into all that the Lord has for you, and be unhindered in your intimacy with Him.