What Goes in, Comes out

Oh, just give it a break! I want to relax and just veg out for a while.

Vegetate means to relax in a completely passive or mindless way.

“I am so weary and tired. I can’t think straight. Just need to refuel and restore.”

These are such common phrases. Our jobs, families, schools, and ministries are demanding and pushing us to perform, even through stress and discomfort. No wonder we have a desire to veg out.

May I please alert you‼️

When you are vulnerable and passive, there is danger lurking. Yes, you do need to rest and restore, but be careful how.

Whatever we passively allow into our minds will actively affect us. It goes into the database of the soul, our minds, and begins to influence us.

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.”

Proverbs 15:14

Feeding as Meditating

We are what we think about.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:“

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

But the motivator for what we think about is our heart. We think what we think because our hearts want what they want. The heart determines what we feed on in the idle moments. Sometimes it’s not bad. We just need to check it.

Absent strong medication, most of us can’t go into a state of just not caring. The mind will receive input even if we are not seeking to actively acquire knowledge.

The area to continually check is our hearts. What do I really want in my heart?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

News?

For so many of us, conditioned for years by 24-hour news and social media, our hearts want us to be informed. Many don’t want to find out the latest shocking events one or two days later. AI evaluated a number of sources to report where 18-24 year olds get their news.

Fascinating!! What you read and see surely will color the way you perceive something.

In the olden days, it was the town crier calling people out into the town square to share news.

That is where we get the word for “church.” Ekklesia means “called-out ones” – people called out of their homes and businesses to gather together in the town square to hear the news and official announcements.

When Jesus came as the true Messiah, many had not heard the news. The news of the gospel was to be proclaimed everywhere. That news is still being shared all over the world. One by one or in big groups the gospel is declared.

As Western culture moved into the 18th century, the printed page became popular as a source of news. People would buy gazettes and then newspapers.

Whatever was printed in the newspaper or broadcast of the radio hourly was carefully curated and presented to us as objectively as possible. What we read or heard in those days we took at face value. It had authority.

Today we have a superabundance of ways to get information, and in this populist era, everyone has a voice, and mainstream legacy media outlets, discredited as authorities, are seen as just a few of thousands of biased voices with hidden agendas. No one can be trusted. Difficult as it may be, we use discretion in the selection of our sources, and be careful of our level of daily intake.

Guidelines for the Mind

Our Father in heaven who has created us and controls all things, has given us guidelines for how to walk worthy in the Christian life.

He encourages us to renew our minds often.

” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2

Firstly, we need the fresh water of the Word of God every day to satisfy us and renew our perspective (John 4:10). I have a morning appointment with the Creator … like at 6 am at the breakfast table, He is waiting for me. I need to talk with Him and hear from Him before jumping into news or texts.

Secondly, we need to view current events with the glasses of thinkfulness. God has given us His Word as an anchor (Hebrews 6:19) and light for our path (Psalm 119:105). He says to think thanks for everything.

“… giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Ephesians 5:20

Thirdly, build up your “big God” belief system. Have you compared the amount of time you spend getting news with the amount of time spent on a sovereign God who is orchestrating all of those events in the news towards fulfilling His plans and purposes (Daniel 4:34-35, Acts 17:26-27)?

Many Christians have a “small God” – a God who is overworked and distracted and not paying sufficient attention to some details. They are more oriented horizontally than vertically. They care a whole lot more what people around them think about something compared to what the Lord thinks about the same thing. God warns us that the fear of man brings a snare, but whoso trusts in the Lord will be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

We need to move to a “big God theology” and to a vertical orientation, confessing what is true from heaven’s standpoint. God is infinite mind (never misses the smallest detail). God has steadfast love and faithfulness toward His children (micro-orchestrating every detail in our lives, struggles, and deaths for our good and His glory). And God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent (ruling over the affairs of men and nations – those that are war-torn and those that smugly feel they have achieved utopia).

Recently I was made aware of how trusting completely in God’s sovereignty actually helped two friends of mine who had gone through the loss of a spouse. They grieved, but there was hope in that God was working a plan, and His peace and plan eased their suffering sooner than others around them. We cannot always see His plan behind the path that He chooses for us, but He asks us to trust Him (Isaiah 43:2).

Fourthly, roll over your soul-weights and anxieties on the Lord, with thanks. When the Lord tells us not to be anxious in Philippians 4:6, He gives a way to process our concerns. He encourages us to bring our burdens and troubles to Him wrapped up in thanksgiving.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Remind yourself that God CAN be trusted in every detail. Give thanks for the Lord delivering us from the dominion of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption (Colossians 1:13-14).

Fifthly, be discerning. How can a person know where to “feed?”

• First of all, pray that God would give you wisdom and guide you.
• Seek godly counsel from trusted mentors.
• Curate your feed. Unfollow accounts that bring anxiety and follow accounts that edify.
• Limit your time and platforms.
• Turn off notifications.
• Engage in real-life activities.
• Consider a tech Sabbath – no phone from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:2