May 17, 2024
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with my “thoughts” constantly. I read this in my devotional today from Lysa Terkeurst: “When I obsess over things out of my control, it makes me act out of control. A much better place to park my mind is to look for God’s protection, provision, and lessons on perseverance in the midst of whatever I’m facing.”
Goodness gracious! How much better off would I be if I could learn to consistently apply this truth? I love the part about “parking my mind.” It made me think of going through a parking lot at Christmas and you can’t find a parking place. Sometimes it’s so frustrating that it can ruin my shopping experience before I even get in the mall (well, maybe not totally ruin it). Or when I grocery shop on Saturday and the parking lot is completely packed and I drive around and around looking for a place to park. That can be so annoying.
One of the definitions of “park” is to place, settle, or establish for a considerable time or to set down and leave something. To park my mind I must place, set, and leave my worries which I have no control over and focus my mind on God. He has RESERVED a parking place for my mind.
I don’t have to look. I just have to pull in and park. God wants me to park my mind and focus on Him. He has my NAME on a spot just for me. He has already taken care of the details. Crazy me. Why am I looking for a place when it is right in front of me? In Philippians 4:8 the Bible says, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” That is exactly where we need to park our minds when we are worried, confused, dejected, or life just feels out of control.
Remember and focus on the goodness of God in our lives and not the lies the enemy tries to put in our minds. Because we are believers our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but God has also reserved a parking spot specifically for you and me to sit, settle, and surrender our thoughts to focus on HIM.
I try really hard on my way to work to prepare myself mentally for my day. Most days, I listen to music because it calms my spirit and fills my mind. I wrote down the songs I heard on my way to work this morning. I looked through the lyrics of each song and took one line to “ponder” as I parked my mind. It was truly amazing how much it changed my frame of mind, and changed the start of my day. I decided to park my mind focusing on God with these songs today!
We are so loved and so blessed, and God is there to supply every need, whether I “park” my mind or not. I just know it’s so much easier if I choose to park immediately with God versus driving around and around wasting my time looking for the perfect place. God is so very good to all of us!
This is the paragraph I wrote using one line from each song. Maybe it will help you to park your mind today and focus on the goodness of God.
"Nothing I have ever done can separate my heart from the God who stays. Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it there was Jesus. Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm. Light a match, leave the past, burn the ships and don’t you look back. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, God Almighty who was and is and is to come. Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing. Make way through the waters and walk me through the fire do what You are famous for. There’s a bigger plan because the storm only lasts for a while - so smile."
The last song I heard was “Me on Your Mind” by Matthew West. The line to focus on was “Just knowing you call me your child is flooding my soul with unspeakable hope. Thank you, Lord, that it’s me on your mind.” Where will you park your mind today?
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
