Day 3

Another day, more words from God!

When You're Suddenly Shaken

"Have you ever been doing just great, and then someone says something, or you see something, or you remember something from the past, and suddenly your peace is gone?"

Suddenly you feel like a failure. You wonder why you've done what you have done, or why you haven't done more, or why you haven't done thngs differently.
As you beging to think about it all, a could of depression blocks out the warmth and contentment you felt just moments ago.
That happened to me one day when our youngest son, David, came home from college for the weekend. On Sunday afternoon when he was ready to leave to return to school, he came to say good-bye to me. I had been taking a nap, and David came in and kissed me good-bye.
When he left, I prayed for him and his safe journey, then rolled over to catch another "forty winks." But as I did, impulsively my thoughts raced to the attic of my mind to pull out the dusty boxes of stored memories. I began rehearsing, days gone by, searching them out to see if I have been the mother I should have been - if I had adequately prepared my son for what lay ahead of him in life.
As I rummaged through the past, suddenly "if onlys" and "what ifs" began to attack me. And just like that, the peace and contentment that had been mine when I lay down for a nap were gone. What had happened?
Nothing had changed...except my thoughts!
Yet that was enough to change the entire atmosphere of my afternoon.
My joy had turned to mourning- my peace to turmoil. My rejoicing over recent spiritual victories was now overshadowed by doubts, inadequacies, and fears. Not because of anything my son had done. David is a fine young man- stable, confident, committed. But because of my own mental turmoil- because of a thought process.
And, Beloved, you know I'm not unique. You, too, have been there. And, if you are like me, it probably has not been a one-time occurance, but something that can come upon you when you least expect it.
Why? Where do these thoughts come from? And what do we do when this happens?
The problem is that so often we forget that we are in warfare and that Satan's target is our mind. Because "as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he," it is only logical that Satan would attack our mind (Proverbs 23:7). He disguises himself, of course; he doesn't want us to think he has anything at all to do with this evil thought process. Yet he does. And that is why God tells us to take up
     
"the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:16-17).

This was precisely what I had to do that Sunday afternoon after David left. I had to purposefully choose to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) and to "Philippians 4:8" it at the door of my mind. Then I had to walk by faith- taking truths such as Romans 8:28-30 and living by them rather than by my feelings, thoughts, and evaluations of life.
How am I able to do this? How am I prepared to do this? What hae I done to make my victorious in these times of mental warfare?
The answer is: I know our God and His ways.
To have this knowledge, two things must be an integral part of my life; I cannot survive without them: regular, diligent study of the Word of God, and a consistent quiet time alone with Him. Without these two basic pieces of spiritual equipment, we cannot withstand Satan's assaults on our mind.
Time alone with God and faithful study of His Word equip and establish us so we can stand firm when Satan attacks our thoughts.

"Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8-9).

Arnold, 2002, pp. 20-22

This is something that I am trying to do differently this year. My peace has become an elusive thing, only grasped on special occasions. I know that with the dedication of time and diligence I can acquire this peace more steadily. It is my hope that I can, through this blog, remain more diligent and allow God time to speak to me.