Dwelling rightly

Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

I watched the steady rise and fall of the stark black power lines against the bright blue sky as we drove through town. Large, puffy white clouds, like gentle giants, and the Summer sun made it seem warmer and happier than I actually felt.

We had just gotten some difficult news at the doctor's office, and my mind was alternating between racing thoughts and blank emptiness. The car was quiet, but the silence was loud between my husband and me.

Normally, I admit, I'm a dweller. I struggle to fight against anxious thoughts, a conversation I regret, or something I'm self-conscious about. But, for whatever reason that day, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me to "take these thoughts captive."

Not my strong suit, I thought, but thanks for the reminder.

Later on, I felt the reminder again and thought surely it was in the Bible, but I couldn't remember where. One Google search later and I was pulling up 2 Corinthians 10:5:

"We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ."

It's no secret that Paul has a history with the church in Corinth, and both of his letters to them are encouraging, but also firm and fiery.

At the start of this chapter, Paul is reminding the Corinthians of his authority and commitment to them, but also to remember how to fight for their faith. He reminds them that they do not fight like the world does, for their own recognition and pride, but that they fight in the Spirit. Part of this for Paul is "taking every thought captive to obey Christ."

As we continued to drive, I tried earnestly to take each thought as it came and offer it back up to God, fighting my fear and resting it in His love instead.

Dwelling in the wrong way on the wrong things

"Don't Google it!" How many times have friends or family given us this advice when we feel sick or someone we love gets a difficult diagnosis? If you're like me, you're Googling anyway, ignoring the very wise advice to steer clear of generalities and escalating the situation.

You might also find yourself scrolling to numb whatever emotion you don't want to feel. Or mindlessly bingeing Netflix because you just can't escape the racing thoughts otherwise. I have done it all.

Taking in a little of these things isn't inherently bad. But when we begin to dwell on the influencer's next haul or the storyline of that new show instead of on Christ's love and God's faithfulness, we're dwelling in the wrong way on the wrong things. We're trying to escape what we feel we can't cope with in the moment by choosing something we feel we can control, but that ultimately won't give us hope.

The difficult part comes when your phone dies mid-swipe, or you see that no-so-subtle message, "Are you still watching?" pop up one too many times. (I have no experience with this 🫣.) When we can no longer distract ourselves from our reality and have to face what's there, where will we choose to go?

Where to dwell for peace

In another of Paul's letters, and my favorite, Philippians, Paul shares some practical and amazing truths about God's peace.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise — dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."

– Philippians 4: 4-9

Don't:

Worry

This exhortation from Paul to not worry is less of a direct command and more of a loving plea. He knows what it's like to suffer physically and worry about the people in this life. He's not commanding us not to worry from a place of blindness, but from a place of experience.

Do:

Worship

Give grace

Pray

Be thankful

Ask God

Dwelling on worship, giving grace to ourselves and others, praying, being thankful, asking God for what we long for, and living in Christ are the proper places to dwell, especially in dark times. Replacing thoughts of destruction, fear, anxiety, and loss with these very practical actions becomes the guardrails for our racing mind and pulse.

But Paul promises peace in these passages not once but twice. First, as a guard for our hearts and minds, and then again through the presence of the source of peace – God himself.

Think on things that are:

True

Honorable

Just

Pure

Lovely

Commendable

Morally excellent

Praiseworthy

It strikes me that all of these things are characteristics of God Himself. When we are thinking about these things, we are thinking about God, and He seems ever more present to us. When we think about things in the world that hold these attributes—like a beautiful sunrise, the care of a friend, or the silly jokes of a toddler—it reminds us of God's good grace, even as we live amidst suffering and sin.

So we are encouraged to dwell on these things. These lovely, true, God things. Things that allow the peace of God to be present with us and to surpass our racing thoughts and anxious hearts.

A note about peace

When I read the Gospels, it seems like there were so many times throughout Jesus' ministry where he showed great peace — the feeding of the 5,000, his time with the devil in the wilderness, with his disciples during the storm — but one time where that might seem a little less clear is from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross.

On the way to the garden, Jesus talks to his disciples about being deserted by all of them. He knows the loneliness of the Cross is coming. Arriving at the garden, he tells Peter, James and John that his "soul is crushed with grief to the point of death," and asks them to stay with him. Then he goes a little further to be alone and pleads with God to take the cup of suffering from him.

As he makes his way back to the disciples, he finds them sleeping, and when I read his words, I can almost feel his frustration, overwhelm and disappointment. He does this three times, praying for God to spare him this suffering and going back to the disciples, finding them asleep.

Each time he prayed that if he couldn't be spared, God's will would be done anyway, and we know that ultimately, God does not deliver him from the suffering of the Cross.

In my own moments of suffering, what seems like feeling "crushed with grief to the point of death," it has been so hard to say the same thing — God, your will be done, not mine. It feels like the only way I will experience peace is if the suffering is taken away. But that's not what we see in Jesus. Despite his pleas, despite his great torment, despite the great suffering he endured, He is still called the Prince of Peace.

So then we know that peace is not the absence of suffering. It's also not dependent upon a faithful community around you. And you won't always walk away from your prayers for peace feeling carefree, without anxieties or fear. We see Jesus from the garden to the Cross going through great emotions we're familiar with, like anxiety, fear, trepidation, overwhelm and stress. He didn't leave the garden with a carefree sense of well-being, but with many of the same emotions he entered with. The difference was his time in God's presence, the God of peace, and laying down his own will for the will of God. He left the garden with a renewed belief and understanding in God's perfect will.

Peace is wholly different than what we expect because it's not just an emotion or feeling, it's a person. God might not take away our difficult circumstances or take us out of the season we are desperate to part ways with, but having a deep abiding peace means that we are laying down our own will, however good, and trusting him regardless.

Reflections/Application:

• What am I dwelling on today?

• Where have I gone to cope with life's difficulties in the past?

• Make a list of things you see as true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, and praiseworthy right now.

• Each time an anxious thought or feeling comes up, look at your list and dwell on one thing for at least 30 seconds to a minute.

• How do the things on your list look like God?

• How might peace look differently than you expected in this season?

• After practicing good dwelling, try to incorporate at least one thing from Paul's list into your day: Worship, Giving Grace, Praying with thankfulness, Ask God for what you need.

Prayer: 

God, we are so thankful that you have intimately provided for us even in our anxiety and grief. Thank you for the gift of Jesus and his example of sacrifice and suffering for us. Thank you for the words of Paul and the promise of peace. Please help us see your attributes all around us today. Help us to dwell rightly and take every thought captive toward you. Help us to dwell with you, sitting in your presence, and to see and experience the grace of your peace as you would have us to. Amen.

— Whitney