Article

Peace of Mind

Michael Beck

“When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” (Psalm 94:18,19)

There are times we’d like to turn our brain off. Maybe we want to fall asleep and thoughts keep flooding our mind. We tell ourselves to think of nothing, but we can’t. To empty the mind some teach meditation techniques like repeating a word over and over again. Some advocate a mystical “stillness” or silence, even orchestrating a “dark night of the soul” as a prelude to finding the God of peace. But God does not call His people into a set of spiritual gymnastics in order to find Him. He calls us to trust and entrust ourselves to Him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Our minds indeed can have a mind of their own. Our imagination can run away from us, taking us down crazy pathways. Memories, pleasant and unpleasant, can pop-up out of nowhere and demand our attention. David knew what it was like to endure such episodes. He asked himself: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?” (Psalm 42:5) At times we don’t understand why our hearts are like a troubled sea. We are apt to try and figure ourselves out to no avail. But in the midst of a stormy sea of thoughts and emotions, the best thing we can do is cast all our cares on the Lord, knowing He cares for us. We need His peace which passes all our understanding to keep our hearts and minds.

God is not under the flood, He is above it. Let Him bring you to where He is.

What we think and feel and say to ourselves may trouble and torment us. The Psalmist said to himself: “My foot slips!” To his mind, he was going to fall; he wasn’t going to make it. A “multitude of thoughts” plagued his mind and robbed his heart of peace. But in the midst of the storm, he heard from his God, and that made all the difference.

The God of comfort is able to comfort us in all our tribulations if we will be more attentive to hear His voice than any other voice sounding in our head. His comforts will delight our soul.

When strange floodwaters arise in your soul, let the voice of the Lord be greater still. “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm 29:3,4) God is not under the flood, He is above it. Let Him bring you to where He is. There you will find comfort for your soul and peace for your mind.

“The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:10,11)


Michael Beck is a pastor in the Dallas, TX area and the main author on Signpost. Receive a daily devotional he publishes every morning via email.