My best thought

Today, I want to encourage you with this one thought. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Fixing our thoughts on Jesus can be hard to do especially at this time when for many of us, it feels as though our lives are falling apart. The loss of a loved one, the loss of income and the loss of any form of normality from the pandemic causes us to question God’s purpose for our lives as believers. Where is God in the middle of all this suffering? Where is God in the middle of my suffering?

In a very old hymn, Be Thou My Vision, there is one line that I particularly love. “Be my best thought by day or by night.” In modern terms, what does this look like? Let my thoughts be about Jesus and he will keep me in perfect peace. The more I think about Him and what He has done and is doing, the more of the supernatural peace which surpasses human understanding will keep watch over my heart and mind. If I choose to continually meditate on how awesome He is to me and how powerful He is as the Creator and Sustainer of life, he becomes the best thing I’ll ever think about during the day. He promises to keep me in peace. What does he mean by ‘keeping in peace’? If I fix my thoughts on him, then when I’m tempted to fear or despair, He will steer me back into His peace. How should I keep myself in His peace? When I fix my thoughts continually on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.

Where I live in Melbourne, Australia, we have been under the strictest rules of lockdown in the world for more than 100 days. We are only allowed to leave home for four reasons: to provide care for a loved one, to buy groceries, to work (if you’re an essential worker – we must have a valid worker’s permit) and to exercise (but only for 2 hours). We are not allowed to travel more than 5 kms away from home and not permitted to visit anyone unless it’s absolutely critical. One hundred days of lockdown, with only essential services remaining open, has certainly taken a toll on the physical and mental health of everyone whom I’ve been in contact with.

And yet, I can say with confidence that this time has taught me much about controlling what I allow myself to think about. I choose to trust in God’s purposes for me as His beloved child because I know who He is to me. I know Whom I have believed in every time I gaze up into the sky and see the white fluffy clouds of which there are ten different sub-types (named according to the weather scientists). Each of these types have their own unique pattern and arrangement in the sky. I know Whom I can trust in, when I see the birds that He has created flying across the sky as they migrate up north for the winter (it’s the opposite here in the land Down Under). Whenever I’m awakened in the morning by the birdsongs, I can’t quite make out what the birds are saying to each other but I’m sure it doesn’t involve their worries about whether God is going to provide the next juicy worm for them to eat. They trust their Maker, who faithfully provides for their needs at the proper time. And when I walk past the colourful fields of wildflowers as part of my daily exercise, I’m reminded about how much God cares to give them clothes to wear. Even during the bleak wintery days (and we’ve had quite a few cold and wet ones this year), I’m thankful for the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air that causes my nose to go numb. I see His handiwork in the mountains (from the travel documentaries on TV) and think of how God is indeed my Rock. The One whom I rely on for my security and, like a rock, He will last forever.

I can place my trust in this God because He will see me through this life, one step at a time. He is faithful to His word and has promised to never leave or forsake me. These are the thoughts that I’m determined to think about and remind myself of despite the fact that everything in the world is so uncertain at this point in time. Of all the thoughts I think about today, may Jesus be my best thought.

Who is He to you?

Isaiah 26: 3-4

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Philippians 4:8

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.