To put it mildly, my mind can run wild. Recently a little white dog blocked the morning rush hour traffic on the main drag into our town. It was hilarious watching from our window. Agitated drivers, rushing to work, craned their necks to see what was causing the delay. As far as we could see, the traffic piled up. Meanwhile, before our eyes, a frantic and panicking little yapper of a dog wildly darted in every direction. People climbed out of their cars, certain that they could calm the pup or catch it or chase it – or do something. But to no avail. All their strategies failed. Finally a police cruiser arrived and the frantic, darting dog was stopped and the traffic started to move.
My mind can be like that little dog. In the circumstances of life, it can race out of control, wildly darting off in every direction. The wildest thoughts. The darkest thoughts. The thoughts of despair. Isaiah 26:3 says: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” In addition to Israel singing this song in a future day, many believers this very day cherish it in their hearts.
HE then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand.”
Dr. Sandy Higgins points out that the expression “stayed on thee“, can be rendered: whose mind stops at God. When everything is falling to pieces around us and our life seems to be crumbling before our eyes; when our hopes are dashed and only despair and impossibilities loom on our horizons; when our mind works overtime to paint even darker possibilities and outcomes; when no logical or spiritual explanations can be found and exasperation leads to desperation – and then in our desperation we come up against a huge immoveable boulder. The boulder brings us to a halt and we can go no further. We stop at it. We take refuge there and the Boulder Rock shields us from the blast of the storm.
Do you know what or who that Rock is? God. The Rock of Ages – Jehovah is our everlasting Rock! When our mind comes to a dead STOP at God, perfect peace settles in our souls. Until our mind stops at God, no rhyme or reason will ever satisfy the questions that flood and swamp our mind. God. The Everlasting God. The All-Knowing God. The All-Powerful God. The Always-Present God. The God you can trust!