When Your Mind Wanders

Scripture:

“ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6–7

Devotional:

The feeling is all too common. I’m sitting down in my favorite chair spending time with the Father, meditating on his goodness and experiencing his presence, when all of a sudden my mind takes off like a runaway freight train. By the time I catch up with it I feel like I’ve lost my place–lost my sense of communion with God.

For years these unwelcome musings have been a source of great frustration for me. I have journal entry after journal entry voicing my frustration with myself for not being able to focus longer than what seems like a few fickle moments. On one such day last week, however, God stepped into my frustrations and spoke something that’s been producing real fruit in my time alone with him.

He showed me that maybe these wanderings aren’t so random. Maybe my mind brings to the surface those things that trouble it. Maybe these musings could actually reveal something about myself that goes deeper than what I’m willing to admit—deep enough to unveil a picture of what I truly care about—of what my priorities might be.

Rather than scrambling behind my thoughts trying to clean them up, maybe I need to take some time to investigate them with the help of the Holy Spirit. And maybe I have a God who’s good enough to enter into my mess with love and grace, and help put the pieces of my thoughts together to form something beautiful.

As I’ve stopped getting frustrated at my wanderings and instead allowed them to serve as a window into my heart, I’ve seen amazing and scary things. I’ve seen that I care way, way too much about what people think. I’ve seen that I’m easily wounded by situations, words, glances, or unfounded beliefs about those around me. I’ve seen that I seem to care a lot more about my reputation with others than I do the perspective of my heavenly Father towards me. And I’ve seen that I’m a lot more scared to disappoint my fellow man than my Creator.

No wonder I got so frustrated with my wanderings before. For the most part they sure aren’t pleasant to look at. But what is far more life-giving than trying to shove them all back in the junk closet of my subconscious is bringing them into the light and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to actually throw most of them away.

As we enter into a time of guided prayer, let’s take a moment to travel down a rabbit trail with God. Let’s invite the Good Shepherd to guide us in our wandering and discover that we can experience his presence even in that which seems like a distraction.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take a moment to quiet yourself before God. Take a few deep breathes to calm your heart and mind. Create space to simply be still. Try being still for 30 seconds or a minute.

2. Now pay attention to where your mind is going. What are you daydreaming about? What movie is playing in your head or what scenario are you pre-living?
3. Invite God into those thoughts. Ask him how he feels or what he thinks about it. And create space to sense his answer.
4. Write down or mull over what you sense him saying. Maybe the movie in your head changed. Maybe you got a sense of peace or comfort about something that happened in the past. Or maybe you got a new sense of peace about something in the future, that God will provide for you and guide you in whatever you’re worried about. Take a moment and thank God for meeting you.

You can’t wander away from God. He’s everywhere! And he cares deeply about anything that matters enough to you to be at the forefront of your mind when you’re meeting with him. Choose to invite him in to whatever is happening in your life, to whatever is weighing you down or stealing your peace. Trust that in his goodness he will cover your wounds and cares about the past, present, or future with his infinite love and mercy. His presence is for you in it all if you’ll simply receive it.