Great Plains Daily Devotional for 3/16/2020

Isaiah 26:4 

Trust in the Lord forever,
    for in the Lord God
    you have an everlasting rock.

This Lenten season I’ve been focusing on what it means to have “peace of mind.” The scriptures contain different Greek and Hebrew words for the word “mind” with different shades of meaning. Consider the above verse and its use of the word mind.
 
The prophet Isaiah wrote these words to God’s Hebrew people when they were in exile. Jerusalem was destroyed, people were carried off to a foreign land and uncertainty, anxiety and resentment filled their hearts and minds. But Isaiah invites God’s people to consider their minds, with a challenge to have a steadfastness of mind. Then and now it’s a challenge to not be swayed by our latest emotional reactivity or divergent opinions about the present and future. It can be a challenge to hold steady in one’s thoughts, beliefs and attitudes in difficult times.
 
In this verse the Hebrew word for mind (yetser) alludes to one’s imagination and frame reference that forms one’s thoughts and perceptions. And Isaiah suggests when we keep our predominant frame of reference on “trust” and “trusting God,” we will experience a steadiness of mind which in itself will produce peace. Personally, I like what this verse suggests for how to live my life “mentally” as a person of faith.
 
I first heard this verse from Isaiah decades ago from the King James Version. It reads: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.”

So today I’m wondering about the challenge and gift that comes from having a mind that is STAYED on God. Being steadfastly focused and trusting in the power and presence of God in our world, in our church, and in our lives can indeed bring us peace as well as peace of mind. What say you?

Prayer for Reflection

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42