We live in a time when a large percentage of millennials suffer from FOMO. Restlessness, boredom and different kinds of anxiety permeate our daily lives. I have heard friends complain about a 45- minute sermon as too long. Several times I have caught myself on WhatsApp and Facebook during sermons in church. I have sat under bible study sessions where I did not pick a sentence from the whole teaching because I was lost in worries or vain imaginations while staring profusely on the teacher like the most attentive student. I have recently found out that I have two problems which are getting in the way of my devotion to God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. I have finally come to terms with my ‘roaming eyes’ and ‘wandering mind’. While I sought the help of the Holy Spirit on the matter, I was led to Isaiah 26 vs 3.
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.
Meditating on that verse made me realise that there is a kind of peace that is imperfect. I also realized that keeping my mind stayed on God requires a conscious effort from me – of course with the help of the Holy Spirit. I also remembered Brother Lawrence’s words that we must ‘practise’ the presence of God. As an (aspiring)academic, I have been lured into believing that my research is the ultimate thing and that the art/act of thinking should be my only preoccupation. Somehow that took the place of the word of God and as a result, I lost my peace. I lost the peace that is only found in God, the one that passes all understanding. Now that I am retracing my step, I thought I should share with fellow Christians that no matter what the world throws at us, we can always be at peace when we keep our mind stayed on God. Of course, I understand that this scripture (Isaiah 25:6) applies to a much broader context but for those who have lost the perfect peace, keeping your mind stayed on God can help you find it .
What does it mean to keep your mind stayed on God? Well, I believe it means many things. It is to surrender or consecrate yourself to God. It is to practice God’s presence in the midst of the noise that saturate our modern life. It is to trust him completely. It is to stand on his promises even in the eye of the storm. And more importantly, for me, it is to meditate on God’s word day in day out (Psalm 1). There is tremendous power in dwelling on the word of God. There are so many forces driving our neoliberal life but we can always survive when we are fortified by the word.
Therefore, in this age of anxieties, irrational fears and peacelessness, let us keep our minds stayed on God and his word for therein lies perfect peace.
De Vine 