Right now. How are you feeling?
Are you happy? Content? At peace?
How about tired? Weary? Or sad?
Are you worried? Anxious? Afraid?
Just like the weeds in my yard are an indication that my lawn needs attention, negative feelings are a sure sign my mind needs some work. And just as with my lawn, for some reason the mind weeds grow fast and are hard to get rid of. It takes persistence and hard work.
Paul wrote to the church in Philipi:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Picture a perfect green lawn. No brown patches or bare spots. It’s well-manicured and free of weeds. It’s bordered by beautiful flower beds. That’s the mind at peace. It’s how your mind is meant to be.
Persistent feelings of anxiety or worry or fear mean that wrong thoughts have taken root in the soil of your mind. Just as with the weeds in your lawn, wrong thoughts must be removed.
For me, the most persistent weed is simply unbelief. It shows up when I try to handle life’s problems and difficulties on my own. It may be a financial concern for which I see no solution. It could be a work-related problem that only seems to get worse. It might be any number of issues that are important to me, but over which I have little control.
Wrong thoughts must be identified and rejected. Then they need to be replaced.
It doesn’t work if I just tell myself, “Stop worrying about money” or “Don’t get so worked up about him/her/it.”
Yes, God says “do not be anxious about anything”, but He also goes on to say “present your requests.” I can’t do one without the other. It just doesn’t work. Error must be replaced with truth.
The only way to stop being anxious is to present my requests to God AND then continually remind myself that He is good, He is all-powerful, He sees my needs, He knows what concerns me, He loves me and wants the best for me, He is faithful and trustworthy, etc.
How’s your lawn looking? Got a few weeds that need to be pulled? What are they? Identify them and dig them up.
Then give your concerns, your problems and your difficulties to your Father. Present them to Him. Then choose to remember He’s got them all taken care of. The result is a mind at peace.
It’s not easy, but it is possible.