Healing of the Mind

 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. Jer 29:11 NKJV

God is always thinking about you, every minute of every day and every night. His thoughts are loving because God is love. He simply loves you all the time.

You can calm your nerves by saying this to yourself often, out loud or in your mental self talk.

“God is always thinking about me, every minute of every day and every night. His thoughts are loving because God is love. He simply loves me all the time.”

But isn’t it a bit strange to talk to yourself? 

That is a complete misunderstanding of the human mind. We all think all the time. Sometimes we think clearly or even obsessively in words, but often there is a quiet murmur going on subconsciously. If we decide to listen to our own thoughts, this becomes clear.

If you feel worried or angry or afraid, there are thoughts going on in your head. Sometimes these thoughts take the form of words but often they are visual images. Sometimes our brain talks and sometimes our brain sees or imagines things.

Before he created the world, he saw what he was creating in his mind. Then he spoke and everything came into being. Everything includes you and me.

How can you learn to think positively, to think thoughts of faith, hope and love?

Reading and meditating on bible texts is a very good way. God’s thoughts are better than our thoughts.

But reciting a whole verse or a whole sentence can sometimes distract you from the business of daily living, although there are times when we must lay aside our daily activity and focus on God and his words.

Memorising and reciting Bible texts can heal your mind, but in the midst of daily activities we need to simplify biblical thoughts. Keep it short and simple.

God is thinking about me.
God loves me.
God has the answer to this.
Patience and kindness.
Mercy and peace.
Keep hoping.

When someone upsets you, “God loves (him or her).”

In the Bible, God tells us to remember his blessings.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Ps 103:2 NKJV

If we don't want to forget the blessings of God, we need to think about them deliberately, to remember good things we have experienced, to see again in our minds what God has done, to thank Him in words and tell other people about them.

I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Ps 9:1 NIV

To make this work, we must be constantly reminding ourselves of God’s goodness.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom 12:2 NIV

Staying Positive in Troubled Times

 As a little boy I loved listening to my father’s classical music recordings. One of my favourite recordings was of a German Jewish men’s choir who sang lovely German folk songs even during the Nazi period.

One of the all-time favourite movies is “The Sound of Music”. It tells of the Austrian von Trapp family, who were strongly anti-Nazi. They had to escape over the mountains to Switzerland to avoid persecution. What is striking in this movie is their love of God and positive human values. They were more for God and people than against the Nazis. It was their faith and love that drove them, rather than hatred of the Nazis.

They were determined to stay positive.

Baron von Trapp sang about his love of beautiful flowers and his love for his homeland.
Maria von Trapp sang about her favourite things. When she was upset, she would think about her favourite things.

When I read the news, I am shocked by what national leaders are doing. I have been crying out for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. I have seen God work miracles to protect Ukrainians. It is amazing that the Russians have not been able to conquer these people. God must be with Ukraine.
But hating Putin will solve nothing. He is what he is.

Valentin Silvestrov is a Ukrainian musician who fled to Berlin in 2022. In Berlin, he composed music, but not angry nationalistic music. He set the Lord’s Prayer to music. 

In very troubled times, it is so easy to become obsessed with fear and anger, but God is still God.

We can pray:
“Your will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven.”

The Apostle Paul’s life was full of persecution and suffering. He was a brutal persecutor of the Christians and then as a Christian he suffered equally brutal persecution himself.
He wrote:

We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor 4:8–9 NIV

And in another letter he wrote:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Php 4:6–8 NIV

Positive thinking was not invented by American writers of self-help books. It comes from the Bible, because God is positive and he loves you.