Hello, how has your week been? mine has been great. There have been moments that could have gone wrong but praise God i surfed the waves!
So this week I am going to be sharing with a group of believers my thoughts on how to deal with stress as a believer in order to maintain a good sense of physical well being.
As you know, I work in general practice in England, so I see a wide range of people coming with mental health problems. Some people come in with anxiety, some with depression, some are a mix of both, there’s so much I see. One of the therapies we are to offer as an option for treatment is counselling aside from medications. A lot of the counselling offered promotes meditation and mindfulness.
Today I’ll share my thoughts with you about meditation, mindfulness and the mind. You would know by now that I am very keen on what scriptures have to say about the mind ( check out one of my series on Mind Renewal here). and i am also interested in what the secular world stumbles on, as they continue to discover God’s principles set in motion since the beginning of time, which is what I believe science is really :-).
As someone who was very severely depressed about 10 years ago who has since been living free, enjoying my life and is thriving by the power of God’s love and his word, I am always keen to share with anyone I can on how they can live free of mental stress, depression, anxiety and remain full of joy. Did you catch from my last post that I am writing my first book on Overcoming Depression, Living with Joy? yes!!! look out for it soon.
What is Meditation and Mindfulness?
Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
Meditation may be used with the aim of reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and increasing peace, perception,[7]self-concept, and well-being
Mediation and mindfulness are now common place phrases used in the world as regards dealing with mental stress.
What does Meditation and Mindfulness mean for the Believer?
In the past, words involving the mind such as meditation and mindfulness would cause me to shy away due to concerns of strange links to all sorts of secular practices, and rightly so.
However, the state of our minds is very important to God and our transformation walk as believers. God expects us to be conscious of the state of our minds, and he expects us to meditate but not the way the world does it as you’ll see in the scriptures below.
Isaiah 26:3 King James Version (KJV)
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose MIND is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.Romans 12:2 New King James Version (NKJV)
2 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.Joshua 1:8 King James Version (KJV)
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
The Holy Spirit has been teaching me about the importance of believers waking up to the consciousness of the state of their minds and how much this influences our lives. The scriptures above show that your peace is strongly linked to what your mind is focused on and your transformation is directly linked to how much you have renewed your mind. You will agree that we should be doing something with our minds wouldn’t you?
Basically meditation and mindfulness are not new to us in the kingdom of God, but it is a totally different practice and experience for the believer.
Father God created us primarily spirits, who have souls and we live in a body. The soul is the citadel of our mind, will and emotions. If you want to understand this better check out my post here on spirit soul body this is who you are.
What does Meditation and Mindfulness look like for the Believer versus the World?
I’ll show you a contrast between what the believer should be doing with their minds when challenged with stress as compared to what the world teaches. Here goes!
STEP 1 : THE WORLD says – Sit Still, get quiet,
GOD SAYS – BE Still and Know I am God. Psalm 46:10
God has told us in the midst of whatever challenge you are facing to calm down, settle down, literally be still and KNOW he is GOD, not FEEL he is God. That happens in the Mind first, feelings follow. Believers need to learn to KNOW first before seeking feelings. 1John 4:16 says we have KNOWN and BELIEVED the LOVE OF GOD. Let the knowledge settle your heart. Bring your thoughts to a place of calm realization that He is God! and if He is God, then He is everything his word says He is to you. That should calm you down in a jiffy!.
STEP 2: THE WORLD says – focus on your breathing as you inhale and exhale.
GOD SAYS – Keep your MIND STAYED ON ME. Isaiah 26:3 This means FOCUS on God, not your breathing. You need to focus on the truth and reality that He is right there in the NOW, dwelling in you by his spirit, that He loves you and his word is real for you in that moment. He is speaking to you and if you listen you’ll hear him speak to your spirit. So FOCUS on his present presence in you, his love for you and his word to you for that moment. Listen, he is always always there. He said I will never leave you nor forsake you.
STEP 3: THE WORLD SAYS – Notice when your mind has wandered and bring it back to focusing on your breath.
STEP 3: GOD SAYS –
2 Corinthians 10:5 : Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
He also says in Philipians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Clearly God wants you to have an active role in choosing your thoughts carefully and making sure they are in line with his word which is truth.
STEP 4: WORLD SAYS – Well different people suggest different things going forward, but mostly all trying to keep the mind focused on present reality.
STEP 4: GOD SAYS – Meditate on his word day and night. Interestingly he tells Joshua not to let it depart from his mouth. The mediation word used here, referred to muttering under your breath. Interestingly God wants us to speak during moments when we spend time with him in his presence meditating. We should vocalise those words of comfort he gives you in those moments. eg Father i thank you that you love me. or Father i thank you that you have not given me the spirit of fear, so i refuse to fear etc.
An Example From One Of My Days At Work….
For example, I had a day at work when i felt so pressured, everything seemed to be going wrong and it began to get to me, i started feeling this sense of being overwhelmed at my job. These days when something like this happens i immediately nip in the bud. So i got quiet once i had spare time. and I just focused my thoughts on God. I began to think about how good He is to me. I focused my mind on my Father God. I remembered the word that says he has given me the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, so immediately i started to praise. I started thanking him for all he has done for me. I intentionally started recalling specific good things he has done. I began to praise Him and no sooner my heart was lifted, and my mind was at rest. Joy welled up from my spirit, i was so full of thanksgiving and joy because i got my mind to focus. Joy brings strength, so i was motivated and full of energy for the rest of my day and the Holy spirit was then able to show me what i needed to do to get the rest of the day to run smoothly and it did. In the past i would have let the overhwelming feelings just take over my mind and mu words and ultimately my day, but praise God no more! You can begin to do this more if you aren’t already doing so.
Did you get anything useful? Please let me know, comment below.
Are you following me on instagram @dr_nkiru? Please do so for daily words to inspire a powerful mindset and emotional wholeness living life as heirs of God!
Love you all.
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