What are you thinking about? We’ve asked that question of others, and others have directed that question toward us. A lot of times, you can tell when someone is thinking about something. They are there, but there is a disconnect with the environment around them. They are lost in their thoughts. The dictionary defines lost in thought this way: “When you give all your attention to what you are thinking about and do not notice what is going on around you.”
It just seems that our minds are always thinking about something. Some of our thoughts can be reasonably average like what is for supper, what do I need to pick up from the store, did I turn the lights off? At other times, our thoughts can weigh much heavier upon our minds as we consider issues such as our health, relationships, finances, and other uncertainties. Yes, we can get lost in our thoughts. We can worry.
Everybody worries. It would be impossible to live in the world and not find ourselves at times worried about something or someone in our lives. Parents know what it means to worry about their children. Business owners know what it means to worry about the bottom line. A person who is dealing with a disease knows what it is like to worry about their health. The list goes on. Yet, worry is not a modern phenomenon, but it is as old as humanity itself.
In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus addresses worry. Jesus speaks about worry related to the daily needs of food, drink, clothing, and shelter. Jesus knew that the people of the day could easily get lost in thought and worry about these things. Jesus states, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Matthew 5: 28-30) Jesus called his hearers who found themselves lost in thought and worry to reframe their thinking by focusing on lilies. Now I don’t think lilies were Jesus’ favorite flower. Instead, Jesus pointed out lilies because they demonstrate God’s concern and care for the flowers of the field, and if God thinks about the flowers of the field, we can trust that we are always in God’s thoughts and on God’s mind.
When we can come to trust in God’s care and concern for our lives, then we can trust God with our anxiety, worries, and problems. We can allow our thoughts to rest in God’s mind. In doing so, we do not become so lost in our thoughts and weighed down with anxiety that we can’t enjoy the life God has blessed us with. We can begin to think of all of God’s blessings, acts of mercy, times of provision, sustaining grace, and steadfast love. When we get lost in these kinds of thoughts, we enjoy the peace of mind that only God can give. That’s something to think about.
Conversations from the Couch 