On Your Mind

What’s on your mind right now?

Perhaps it’s a comment that stung, a smile from a stranger, or a frustrating work problem. Our minds are complicated swirling pieces of us often running endless laps of thoughts.

On Tuesday, I found myself wrapped up in a negative thought cycle. Snippets of conversations that were hurtful, moments that could’ve used better words, and tones that dug deep under the skin.

After spending too long caught up in these thoughts, I sat down and began to write what I needed to hear rather than what I had heard that day.

It started off specific, such as, “Their reaction doesn’t decide how ‘valid’ your feelings or experiences are”. Then it gradually expanded to broader reminders, such as, “Don’t let the enemy steal your joy” and “This won’t last forever”.

Then yesterday, I had a verse from a worship song pulsing through my brain. “I was on your mind before the world began…” (referring to God).

I spent far too long searching for the name of this song, whose verse was unfortunately too similar to another great hit by Matthew West, not the song in my head.

My persistence paid off when I found it on a playlist created by one of my wonderful, musically inclined friends, conveniently titled “On Your Mind” (but by John Mark Pantana).

While the search was an unproductive use of time, I realized God was trying to get my attention through it. Exploring the meaning of this song and really focusing on the lyrics reminded me of how each detail of our lives is significant to God. Not because He needs us, but because He loves us.

No matter what is plaguing our minds or what other people think about us, we are always on God’s mind. He has always had a plan for us.

It can be scary when someone says they were thinking about us. Usually it means they were worried about us. But sometimes, it just means that they care and enjoy thinking about us.

When God says we’re on His mind, it is out of a place of deep love and affection. Learning from our mistakes, taking steps of growth, and tending to our brothers and sisters causes God to delight in us.

What do you need to hear today? What might God be whispering in your ear?

I challenge you to take the time to be still and listen. Often God’s voice is in the gentle breeze covered by the roaring wind.

For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:16-17