I recently received a fascinating audio from one of my sons in which he described his first 100k (62 mile) run--he used about every adjective in the book! The anticipation, the excitement, the exhaustion, the agony, the cramps, the constant intake of protein, the effort for each step, the slippery paths, the steep climbs and dangerous descents, the knee pain, the blisters, all of it, with his mind focused on one thing -- just making it to the Finish Line.
Without that fierce determination to focus on the goal he would never have made it.
And this is nothing unusual.
Some people spend their entire lives focusing on a specific line of study. They plunge into the matter and research until they become experts in the field. This usually lands them some sort of career, with its source of income, and probably a measure of stability. Generally speaking, they are considered successful.
Others hone in on perfecting their skills in an art form, like music, architecture, painting, etc... Hours turn into years as they invest in mastering their specific field. Again, they may turn these interests or gifts into a lifetime vocation, and be rewarded with wages, and maybe even fame.
Then, there are thousands who zero in on an unusual ability in sports. Their capacity for endurance, or natural coordination, or unusual body characteristics, propel them into the limelight, as they break records and make the news.
Many more examples could make the list, but all of them would be linked initially and essentially to the mind, and it's incredible capacity for organizing and managing our energies and desires.
But one thing is sure. If that is all they focused on, it was a complete waste of a life.
None of the accomplishments gained by all of these intense mental disciplines in themselves will do one single thing for us the moment we fill a casket. They do not come with us. Sure, we may be remembered for centuries. Our family may reap benefits in comfort, style, or longevity. Our nation may honor us with a statue, or a street, or a holiday.
But that's it. At death it all stays behind and slowly fades from memory.
So in the light of this, what a marvelous truth is this one that Isaiah wrote in 26:3-Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.
It reveals the highest goal our intellect could ever give itself to--that of "staying our minds on Him", of having a clear and firm focus on God!
He who is before, during, and after our life on earth should be the one primary object of our thoughts. To grow in knowing Him should consume us, and the reading of His Word should be our overwhelming passion. He should be more than our job, our hobbies, our things, or any other person.
And then, the amazing truth is that we are given an incredible reward for doing it! We are offered peace. Perfect peace. Eternal peace. The kind of peace God always enjoys.
All of this is about pure grace. We have no claim to anything other than an eternal, irreversible, moral obligation to our Creator. But, almost unbelievably, it is He who cares and gives and loves.
So in this verse we find both the supreme purpose of the human mind as well as one of its greatest pleasures.
You have been given a mind with an unfathomable capacity to learn, to study, to recognize, to create, to appreciate, and to worship.
How are you using it?
AB
Without that fierce determination to focus on the goal he would never have made it.
And this is nothing unusual.
Some people spend their entire lives focusing on a specific line of study. They plunge into the matter and research until they become experts in the field. This usually lands them some sort of career, with its source of income, and probably a measure of stability. Generally speaking, they are considered successful.
Others hone in on perfecting their skills in an art form, like music, architecture, painting, etc... Hours turn into years as they invest in mastering their specific field. Again, they may turn these interests or gifts into a lifetime vocation, and be rewarded with wages, and maybe even fame.
Then, there are thousands who zero in on an unusual ability in sports. Their capacity for endurance, or natural coordination, or unusual body characteristics, propel them into the limelight, as they break records and make the news.
Many more examples could make the list, but all of them would be linked initially and essentially to the mind, and it's incredible capacity for organizing and managing our energies and desires.
But one thing is sure. If that is all they focused on, it was a complete waste of a life.
None of the accomplishments gained by all of these intense mental disciplines in themselves will do one single thing for us the moment we fill a casket. They do not come with us. Sure, we may be remembered for centuries. Our family may reap benefits in comfort, style, or longevity. Our nation may honor us with a statue, or a street, or a holiday.
But that's it. At death it all stays behind and slowly fades from memory.
So in the light of this, what a marvelous truth is this one that Isaiah wrote in 26:3-Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.
It reveals the highest goal our intellect could ever give itself to--that of "staying our minds on Him", of having a clear and firm focus on God!
He who is before, during, and after our life on earth should be the one primary object of our thoughts. To grow in knowing Him should consume us, and the reading of His Word should be our overwhelming passion. He should be more than our job, our hobbies, our things, or any other person.
And then, the amazing truth is that we are given an incredible reward for doing it! We are offered peace. Perfect peace. Eternal peace. The kind of peace God always enjoys.
All of this is about pure grace. We have no claim to anything other than an eternal, irreversible, moral obligation to our Creator. But, almost unbelievably, it is He who cares and gives and loves.
So in this verse we find both the supreme purpose of the human mind as well as one of its greatest pleasures.
You have been given a mind with an unfathomable capacity to learn, to study, to recognize, to create, to appreciate, and to worship.
How are you using it?
AB
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