I woke up this morning feeling a little down. I said a prayer, thanking God for waking me up this morning and that he would keep me throughout the rest of the day. I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to start preparation for the day. Before I even made it out the front door, I had contemplated all the things I needed to complete today. That led me to think of all the things I needed to get done for the week. Work, papers, exams, classes, site visits, studying, eat, sleep; all the ideas rushed my mind and I found myself to be extremely overwhelmed. I felt defeated before my tasks even started; unsure if I would have sufficient time to complete all the things set before me.
The human mind can be our worst enemy. Sometimes we find ourselves over-processing every minute detail. This leads to mental exhaustion before we even begin to complete our tasks. Exhaustion will only worsen the situation and we end up feeling like we’ve already failed.
I had to step back and really look at my situation. Getting frazzled is not going to help me complete anything. But how do I keep from getting frazzled? I had to remind myself of what the Word says.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
- 1 Peter 5:7 (New Living Translation)
God is with us at all times and He has no desire for us to endure our burdens alone. We have to be sure to give all that we experience to Him. We must be able to go to God and say “Father, I have so much and I can’t do it without you.” Faith is a huge part of prayer and we must believe that God will help get us through. He knows all the things we have before us, all we must do is ask Him to help complete it.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
- John 14:27 (New Living Translation)
In this scripture, Jesus is telling us that he has given us peace. The peace He has given us is what we must focus on to keep our minds at ease. Anytime we get into a bind, we have to look at it and say “God knew.” He knew it was going to happen and He knew how we were going to get out of it in one piece. Through all that we must do, we should have peace of mind because God knew.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
- Philipians 4:8
We must learn to control our negative thoughts because, more likely than not, they are all lies. For example, “I can’t do it.” But Philipians 4:13 says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Another example, “I can’t figure out how to do it all.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says that He will direct our paths. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. We must keep our minds focused on the truth of God’s Word and His promise for you to excel. And when those negative thoughts start creeping in, we must counter them with the truth of God’s Word.
Exams, studying, papers, work….no matter what you need to get done in a day, week, or even month, know that God is with you and He has called you to great things.
~Dove Sister Brittany Outlaw~
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