A Controlled Mind

(Written Jan 10, 2007)

I was not in a good mood yesterday morning. It had been a rough night – my three year old has a rash that we can’t get rid of, and it was keeping her awake in the night. My five month old decided that he was going to join right in and not sleep well, either. Between the time I went to bed and 2:30 AM, I had been up five or six times between the two of them. When the alarm went off at 6:00, I didn’t argue when my husband reset it for 7:00, even though I knew how behind that would put me. A friend was coming to visit for the morning, and I had so wanted to have a tidy house to welcome her. Not that she cared about the condition of my house, but that’s what I wanted. And, I knew we needed to get in a little bit of our homeschooling before she and her children arrived. But I was so tired that I couldn’t think of anything but more sleep. At 7:00 we dragged ourselves out of bed and began the day with frustration and irritation. Finally, overwhelmed by my agitation as I was attempting to get my day started, I sat down on the couch with my quiet time gear in hand. In my journal I wrote just a few short sentences about how the clutter in the house and the lack of sleep were making me crazy. Then I stopped. I knew what I needed – not a gripe session, but a gift from God. So, I pleaded, “You, Lord, are the only Giver of peace. Please give me that peace!” I felt so tempted to continue pleading – you know, make sure He really heard me. But, I remembered the official’s faith (“The ‘Wrong’ Passage”) and knew I needed to take my Lord at His word. He promised to give us peace if we asked, so I took Him at His word. I put aside my journal and picked up His Word. I read Romans 8. Let me just quote a bunch of it, starting in verse five.

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” (emphasis mine)

I was floored! Paul is telling us here that if we have accepted Christ, we are controlled by the Spirit. If we’re controlled by the Spirit, then our minds are life and peace. It’s not that we have access to life and peace, but that “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace!” I was only agitated because of my choosing to ignore the Spirit within me. The peace didn’t need to come or be given. It was already there. It was just hiding, covered by my agitation.

Today, Lord, I choose to let your Spirit run free. I choose to let the peace and life shine forth over my selfishness. Thank You, Lord, that this is who I am and that I am free from all that causes peace and life to be hidden!