Psalm 31:

⁷ I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
      because You have seen my affliction;
     You have known the distress of my soul . . .

¹⁴ I trust in You, O Lord;
     I say, “You are my God.”
^15a  My times are in Your hand . . .

^22b You heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
     when I cried to You for help.

^24b Be strong, & let your heart take courage,
     all you who wait for the Lord!

I love Psalm 31; the whole chapter is so encouraging, but for the sake of this post I’ve only highlighted the verses above.

In verse 7 David proclaims that he will rejoice, NOT because God has delivered him OUT OF his affliction or his distress (although He is certainly able to!) — but because God has seen his affliction and God knows his distress. No matter what you are walking through, the suffering you quietly carry everyday, the pain you cannot ignore, the hurt you haven’t moved on from, or the questions you silently bear — we can take take heart knowing that: God sees. God knows. “You have seen my affliction; You have known the distress of my soul.” Just because He hasn’t responded like you expected doesn’t mean He is unaware. You are not alone in your pain. We can still rejoice in the midst of great suffering and uncertainty because His steadfast love will never change.

Then, there’s a simple prayer of faith in verses 14 & 15:

“I trust in You, O Lord,” I say,
“You are my God.
My times are in Your hand . . .”

In a recent message at church we talked about the prayer that Jesus prayed to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane: “Father, let this cup pass from Me — nevertheless, not My will but THY will be done.“ In our prayers we are frequently focused on what we want to change or what we want to pass. But, if we never come to the “nevertheless” in our prayer, we will never share Christ’s heart. Until we come to the place where we can sincerely pray: “not my will, but THY will be done,” we’ll never reach the place of trust and surrender, like David says “My times are in Your hand.”

We may never have an answer to the “why” He didn’t allow the cup to pass, stop the affliction or end the distress — but we can trust His heart.

I’ll never forget hearing a dear sister in Christ share about her husband’s sudden passing. She shared a quote from Spurgeon that read: “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

How many times have you walked though something & questioned: “God, do you see what is happening to me?!” “Why aren’t You answering or moving like I had asked?!” When the reality is, God has always been aware, He sees, and He knows — but He also doesn’t always respond how we expected. In the midst of the uncertainty we can trust His character — He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and when we can’t determine what His hands are doing, we can trust His heart.

Then, in verse 22, David says: “You heard the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cried to You for help.” When God’s response to our prayer is not as we expected, it’s not because He didn’t hear us, but because He has a greater purpose to fulfill that we are most likely unaware of. Sometimes all we can see is the loss, pain, hurt, and ache but this Psalm assures us that God hears our every cry. On this side of eternity we may never know how He is accomplishing a greater purpose through the pain, but He promises to give us the mercy we need to walk through the unexpected, and His mercies are new every morning.

Lastly, David declares: “Be strong, & let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” I believe there will never be a point in our lives when we are not waiting for something. . . God knows the things we long and pray for but there have been times where the Lord has shown me that I am not waiting for HIM but for what HE can DO; there’s a big difference. At times it’s easy for the two to become blurred, especially when you’re waiting and praying for something this is good and something you believe He desires for you. But in this verse David encourages us to be strong and take courage. Why? Because waiting can cause us to grow weak and discouraged in our faith; but in the waiting we also learn that only God can fill the longing we have and only His living water can quench the thirst of our souls. I read this the other day & it was such an encouragement to my soul: “If we are so focused on what God isn’t doing — we will miss out on what He IS doing.” How true is that?! Don’t allow what God is not doing to make you miss out on all that He is doing!

As you wait, dear friend, don’t forget: God sees, He knows, He hears. Trust Him, surrender your future to Him, wait on Him today, and walk in the new mercies He has for you day-by-day. Be strong and take courage, He is near.

“Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
– Isaiah 40:28-31

“Perhaps maybe for a
reason you cannot see,
God wants you to wait”

“If then you were raised with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God.
SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE,
not on things on the earth.”
– Colossians 3:1-2

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God’s Word guides and instructs us to SET our minds on things above — but, honestly, it is so easy for my mind to be focused on the things of this earth . . . things that are temporary, ever-changing, and chaotic. Things we chase like success, independence, status, social media, relationships, collecting stamps in a passport or tacks on a map . . . they are things that are not bad in themselves, but when they are idolized or become the goal of our pursuits, they cause our eyes to turn from Christ and onto focus on earthly things.

Seeking and setting our minds on things above it is not a “one-and-done” thing — it’s a daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment thing.

When I am focused on the things of earth, things going on around me *or emotions going on inside of me,* I will be tossed to and fro (Eph 4:14), consumed with myself, and unstable in all my ways (James 1:7-8). But when I SET my mind on the things above – where Christ is – then I have a steady, faithful, and stable foundation for all my thoughts and emotions to land. Everything gets filtered through a heavenly and eternal perspective.

Sometimes God allows our external circumstances to remain the same so He can change us internally. HE can transform everything inside of us, while nothing around us is different.

But is it enough to just “discipline ourselves into” setting our minds on things above? Or is it something that we are left to do on our own? In our own strength?
Thankfully, and by God’s grace, no! God’s Word tells us that He TRANSFORMS and RENEWS our hearts and minds through the power of His Holy Spirit and by His Word.

“And do not be conformed to this world, 
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:2

“I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you
your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 

Apart from Jesus, I am helpless to love Him with all my mind. He must give me the love because I am incapable of producing His agape love on my own — it only comes from Him.

“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind.”
– Deuteronomy 6:5

There are also some very practical & deliberate choices we can make to fix our minds on things above…

As an example — when I find myself struggling with comparison, wrestling with being content, focusing on myself, dwelling on insecurities, replaying a past hurt or memory, complaining, feeling anxious, worried, frustrated, or spiritually empty or drained *the list can go on and on!* I go before the Lord, examine my heart, and ask myself the questions below:

– What have I been listening to?
– What have I been watching?
– What have I been reading?
– What have I found my mind dwelling on in moments of stillness?

As I answer those questions, He usually reveals what has lead me to that place and reminds me to fix my mind back on Him.

You know what one of the hardest things about our minds & thoughts is? They’re hidden.

Growing up (and even now!), my dad always asked us: “what are you thinking?” instead of “how are you feeling?” because he knew that our emotions change frequently but our thoughts determine what our actions will be. You know what though? When he would ask that question we had the choice to be HONEST about what we were thinking, or to conceal what we were thinking . . . and the same is true today when God asks us, “What are you thinking?” or “What are you fixing your thoughts and setting your mind on?” — we can either hide in shame OR be completely honest.

It’s easy to hide our thoughts and even to deceive ourselves by not acknowledging our own harmful, disobedient, and ungodly thoughts. But we must humbly come before God in and lay our hearts bare. When we do that, we allow His light to shine in the dark, hidden crevices of our minds and His light brings hope and healing.

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light.” – Romans 13:12

We will never be able to fix our minds on things above until we recognize and remove the things that are distracting us from Him and hindering us from seeing Him. As long as we fail to confront and expose the things we’ve allowed to stay hidden, we will remain stuck. Many choose to remain in the darkness and continue to carry shame because they fear being exposed. But the very thing that you’re afraid of is the very thing that can lead to your healing, and as we seek to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” our thoughts will begin to reflect His.

“Time itself does not heal, but it does give us opportunity to heal.” –Briana Swann

Did you know that the Bible says that our minds can put us on a path leading to death or on a path leading to LIFE & PEACE?!?! Romans 8:5-6 says: “…those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life & peace.“

What if, at the end of every day, we were able to see a visual (haha – like a pie graph or something) of our thoughts? What percentage would be consumed with things of earth and what percentage on things ABOVE? What we think about ultimately determines our future, and while our thoughts are hidden, WE DO SEE THE ACTIONS & EFFECTS of our thoughts: every word we speak and action we make begins as a thought in our mind. That’s why God cares so deeply and speaks so frequently about our mind and our thoughts in His word.

He cares, and places great importance on our thoughts, and so should we.

“Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you
& it ought to be devoted entirely to Him.”
-OSWALD CHAMBERS

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“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

“Let the words of my mouth
& the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength & my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”
Isaiah 26:3-4

The LORD will
PERFECT
that which concerns me.

Jesus WILL perfect—complete, fulfill, finish, accomplish—what is concerning me. What is concerning you. Psalm 138:8 says:

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”

Doesn’t that bring such comfort and peace?! What you’re doing may seem insignificant to you. Where you are may feel purposeless; but do not grow weary and don’t be discouraged — nothing is wasted when God is working.

God knows exactly what is concerning you, what is on your mind, and what weighs heavy on your heart. If He knows every single hair on your head and He knows the number of sands on the shore, certainly He is aware and in control of what is troubling you.

He has not forgotten about you.
He is not finished with your story.
When it feels like He’s put the pen down and walked away.
When you don’t know when the next chapter will start. . .
. . . do not lose hope and do not lose heart.

Because He “is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” (2 Cor. 4:17) May we be able to say, with the Psalmist: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8

³He will not let your foot be moved;
 he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
Psalm 121

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing.”
– James 1:4

“being confident of this very thing: that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
-Philippians 1:6