The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

I've heard it many times in my life and perhaps you have as well. The phrase was intended to inspire others (usually young people) to do something more with their time other than playing video games, reading comic books, or playing with toys. It was generally meant to encourage one to do their homework or read a good book although it can double as a sarcastic commentary on one's poor choices (read: two fries short of a happy meal, one brick shy of load). Are you ready for it?

 

Source: Public Domain



"The mind is a terrible thing to waste."

I've come to a place in my life where I "get it." I see the point of this phrase, but not only in ways previously mentioned. I see a different side of it (of course).

It IS terrible to waste a mind, but I don't mean the mentality of, "it's terrible not to study and read in order for you to sound really smart in front of everyone and they'll know you didn't waste your mind. Then maybe they'll see you as the 'knowledge guru' and no one will ever question your choices because you are the Yoda of not wasting a mind." Come on, now. I know you have someone in mind who fits this description. Don't lie. {wink, wink}

Sure. Reading is important. Learning is important. The problem is that I've known too many people who were really smart with book knowledge, computer knowledge, or even Bible knowledge, but they have wasted their mind because it was still only focused on themselves. A selfish mind is a wasted mind. I repeat...

A selfish mind is a wasted mind.

The Bible tells us that as a part of our new identity in Christ, we have been given the mind of Christ. However, that probably doesn't mean what you think it means. Some people are ready to run home and tell their husbands, wives, friends, or children, "Hey! You can't argue with me because I have the mind of Jesus so I'm right! HA! Top THAT!"

Don't do that. Please. :)

In fact, go ahead and read these two verses: 

 

For "Who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?" But we understand these things because we have the mind of Christ.

- 1 Corinthians 2:16 (NLT)

 

In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought. 

-Philippians 2:5 (ERV)

 

We have the  mind of Christ available to us. It is what reveals the Father's nature to his children. It's how his sheep know the voice of the Shepherd. The mind of Christ is what gives us discernment into seemingly "murky" situations and bestows wisdom in the midst of chaos.

 

However, it is also what encourages us to be selfless, to give of ourselves even when it's hard, and to think of others as more than ourselves. Jesus didn't come to earth in all his glory. He lowered himself to become a HUMAN and experience life as a human....not as God. He spoke only what the Father told him to say and did only what the Father told him to do. This is the mind that we have been given: the mind to selflessly obey our Father out of love for him and love for others. Today, let's choose to access this mind of Christ and allow it to do it's work in us.

 

Lord, help us to have the mind of Christ more and more each day. Help us to choose your selfless ways over our selfish, indulgent ways. Fill us with a love for you and a love for others that brings you glory and joy. Renew our minds as we meditate on you and listen for your still, small voice. Teach us what it means to truly live in the mind of Christ.

 In Jesus Name, Amen

 

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Steal My Show

So I've been feeling a blog coming on, but it's not this one. (How's that for "bait and switch?") I have it mostly finished, but there it sits in my drafts just waiting to be broadcast to the world. I must admit that there's a reason it is my "lady in waiting." Sometimes God just tells us to sit down and shut our mouths. The time will come for that one, but right now, I'm living in chaos. I am daily crying out to my Abba Father for help, strength, wisdom, and (as my mother always prayed) a bridled tongue.

A situation has presented itself in my life (ahem, reared it's UGLY head) and it's not fun. It branches into a lot of other areas of my life that mean a lot to me; so it's safe to say that currently every day is a battle for me. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who knows that I am on my ledge and he continually urges me to "guard my heart." He realizes this is a spiritual battle and he wants me to fight. I've blogged many times about my brother and the profound ways he has shaped my life. He taught me to fight and to never back down, so I'm am ready to pummel some people! However, that is not the type of fighting I need to be doing at the moment (nor is the verbal lashing I'd like to offer some people free of charge).

The Spirit of God is teaching me to wait out the storm. He is teaching me to praise him while I am hurting. Although I don't handle every problem as I should, He is still beckoning me to come....sit....pray....praise.....linger...worship. It goes against everything I am "typically" used to doing. When there's a problem, I hop right on the saddle and try to fix it. If option A doesn't work, I immediately go to option B. You get the picture. I'm a fixer. I try to fix things and fix them quickly. Unfortunately, He's teaching me that this attitude is a branch of idolatry and pride. UGH. Them again?!

I've been made aware of these issues before during my spiritual journey over the past two years. I understand that seemingly "good things" can turn into strongholds and I've had to attack a few strongholds over the past two years. It's WONDERFUL knowing how to do so. It's empowering to know that I don't have to live under the tyranny of my enemy. I have a choice. I can fight in a different way.

And guess what...

I'm choosing to fight in a completely different way than I ever have before. If you know me or you have followed my blog at all, you know I love music. I may not memorize every artist or song title, but music flows in my veins. It is my native language. It's how God and I talk oftentimes and tonight, we had a powerful conversation that I felt he wanted me to share with you. It was based on Toby Mac's new song, "Steal My Show." As it was playing on the radio, I knew I needed to take out the word "if" repeated throughout the song and make it my prayer to my Abba....my Daddy who has helped me SO much over the past several weeks.

Here is my prayer:

Abba,

Please steal my show. I'll sit back and watch you go. I know you've got something to say so please just take it away. I NEED you to steal my show. I'll can't wait to watch you go. So take it away! I surrender!

It's easy for people involved in music (in any way) to make it about them and to think the "show" is about them. I find that many of my prayers are like that. They are "me focused" and they show that my heart is self-centered. I've had to confess this to my Father in order to change my habits of pride and idolatry. It took a painful situation (all UP in my face) to make me realize that.

In my heart, I truly don't want to make everything about myself. Sometimes we make it about ourselves without us even knowing and then the damage is done (both to us and the people who've had to endure it). I hope that you can understand what I am trying to say and I hope it helps you in some way. I love people and I really want to help others even if it means I'm airing my guts publicly. It's a small price to pay to help others, help myself, and glorify the Father. After all, that's Who we are here for, right?

Kamikaze Squirrels and Aardvarks. What?!

I can't tell you how many times I've questioned God. Some things just don't make sense to me. For instance, North Carolina weather. I mean come on! Can we have normal seasons, please, instead of 90 degree days like we did in November? Or how about the aardvark? What in the world?

Somethings just don't make sense to me. Don't get me wrong. I've taken some pretty good college classes that explained the whole environmental, ecosystem thing. That at least explained the kamikaze squirrels I used to have in my back yard.

From what I have heard from family and friends, there is a lot about God that doesn't make sense like how much He loves us, why He allowed His Son to die, why He lets satan get away with so much. Believe me, I have wrestled with some of these major issues and really asked God for wisdom to understand.

That's when it hits me. God is wise (which happens to be my meditation for today) and I am not. I have no business even trying to tell God how to do his job. I believe I covered my opinion on that in my other blog, The Sky Really IS the Limit .

Here you go...

Proverbs 3:19-20

19 By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the clouds poured down rain.  

Daniel 2:19-20

19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven,  

20 saying, "Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he alone has all wisdom and power. 

In God's wisdom, He created the world and everything in it. Even though we don't understand the weather, aardvarks, kamikaze squirrels, God's love, Jesus' death, and satan's existence, God does. He knows and understands everything. He is not just wise, but it is not in His nature to be UNwise. He can't do it. God is not stupid, nor does He make mistakes. There is a reason behind it all.

So you can bring your questions, confusion, hurt, and anger to God. It doesn't have to make sense to us before we can bring it to Him. We can bring all of it to Him and watch Him do something incredible with it. Everything is a part of His GOOD plan. He has no evil plans because He isn't evil. He is wise and when we learn to listen to His voice, He can share with us the information we need to fully process the maddness we live in at times.

He's ready and He can take it. Bring it!

The sky really IS the limit.

Typically, when someone says, "The sky is the limit," they mean that the possibilities are endless. You'll often hear phrases like this from opportunists, motivational speakers, hopeless optimists, used car salesmen, and that good buddy who keeps trying to get you to join his downline in his latest network marketing venture.

As you may have expected, I have a different take on the phrase. Shocking....I know.

Grammatically speaking, it is really saying, "You can go as far as the sky, but that's it. You can't go further. You are limited in how far you can go." Sorry if I ruined that phrase for you forever, but welcome to my brain. :o)

Today's medidation time (which seems to be growing beyond my commute) was spent on an attribute of God. "Attribute" (at-tri-byoot...not uh-trib-yoot....two very different things) is a term referring to a quality of God's character. Today's attribute: God is infinite.

Romans 11:33 (NLT)

33 Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!  

We live in a world full of people who won't believe in anything they can't see. They have to have quantifiable, visible, and tangible proof. They call it scientific. They call it wisdom.

God can't be measured. You can't put Him on a scale to see how much He weights and no tape measure in existence could measure His height. He is beyond our finite minds, scoffs at the tiny boxes in which we try to squeeze Him, and can not be limited. With a word, He spoke the world into existence. He breathed life into a man-shaped lump of dirt and gave him life...eyes blinking, heart beating....the whole nine yards! 

There is not a person on the planet who can do that, I don't care how smart and creative they think they are. 

God can not be stopped by time, space, demensions, powers, or authorities. His wisdom is so far beyond ours that we can't even BEGIN to comprehend it. I am one who loves to know the method to the maddness. Unfortunately, there is only so much of God I can understand because my brain is not big enough to hold it all. The combination of all the brains on the planet (including the ones who actually use more than 10%) working together would not be enough to fathom Gods wisdom and knowledge. 

I guess I should remember that the next time I don't understand why something is going awry and I feel the need to throw up my fist at God. Who am I to think I can tell God how to do His job? I know I get annoyed when people who know nothing about what I do try to tell me how I could do it better. So why should I do that to God? {spoiler alert: I shouldn't.} Yeah, that would be what one of my friends calls and "Amen/Ouch."   

I thought about all of this as I looked up at the beautiful blue sky full of puffy, white clouds. The sky is enormous. It seems to go on forever in all directions and it does...to a point. The oxygen in our atmosphere, the gravitational pull that keeps our feet on the ground, and the winds pushing those clouds around exist even though we can't see them. However, if you keep going higher and higher into the sky, you will discover that even gravity and oxygen are limited. Ask any astronaut and they'll tell you. These things do not exist in space, but God remains the same. He is as real in space as He is in the earth's atmosphere.

The next time you look at the sky, look all around as far as you can see and remember that God is beyond limit and measurement. Your circumstances may not make sense, but get to know the One who knows what the real deal is. Don't think that because God is infinite that He is too big to care for you, though. He just cares for you more than you can imagine, that's all.

Excuse me...can you tell me how to get to...?

I'm lost.

Well, not really, but that is how I feel. Have you ever been at a place in your life when you felt like you had finally figured everything out only to have the rug ripped out from under you? Suddenly your life is no longer as it was and you are left to figure everything out on your own.

I am no stranger to struggle. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I've had to fight for whatever I managed to get (I did have a brother after all!). Because of that, it came as a great surprise when there came a point in my life when doors of opportunity began to fly open at random. What's a girl to do to do but to walk (or run wildly) through those doors?

I did. What I found on the other side of those doors felt like home to me and felt like I was finally stepping into what I was designed for. But now, it seems as if all of those once-open doors have now slammed shut and I'm left stumbling around in a dark hallway. No light. No direction.

This is a very frustrating place for me to be. I don't enjoy feeling this way, but I also understand that I'm not the only person in the world who has felt this way. I'm sure you have felt that way before. I know when I feel this way, there is nothing that anyone can say to make me feel better. I do, however, find great peace and comfort in this:

I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. Isaiah 58:11

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:4,7

For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. Proverbs 2:6-9

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3

I may not understand everything going on in my life at all times and I may not even like it all. However, I will trust in my God and His plans for me.

If you are facing (or have faced) a similar battle, I hope that you will find strength and hope in the word of God as I have. If you have any verses that have helped you through a rough time in life, please post them in the comment section below. Let's link arms and face our battles armed with the word of God! 

PS...Feel free to share this with anyone else who may need some direction or encouragement. We all face times like this. It's nice to know you're not alone. :o)