What is Filling Your Mind?

What fills your mind in the "in between" moments? ...in moments of down time, travel, or waiting?

What is Filling Your Mind?

This week's devotions are written by my son, Bryant Forshee, Lead Student Pastor for Cross Church, Springdale, AR campus.

- Pastor Danny

"Finally brothers and sisters, 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 anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things."

(Philippians 4:8, CSB)

I hope it really has blessed and encouraged you to spend the first few days of this week in meditation with me. I hope and pray that it will be a daily discipline for you that allows you to grow in your relationship with Christ. Through Biblical meditation, we have been putting Scriptures into our minds and dwelling on them. As I have been trying to fill my mind with Scriptures over the past few weeks, I began thinking to myself, "What has been filling my mind?" So, I want you to begin asking yourself: "What is filling my mind?"

This question really came to a head when I was at work. In our student offices, we don't have bathrooms, but just outside of the offices, there is a bathroom. I would say this distance is about twenty yards. Well, I was on my way to the restroom, and I quickly realized that I had done three things in that twenty yard span: I had checked ESPN, Instagram, and Google Chrome news articles in that short distance. As I realized this, I began to think about how much "down time" I have and what I do in those moments. What do I do when I go from one meeting to another? What do I do when I drive from one place to another in my car? What do I do when I am walking from one place to another?

I began to realize that I will often fill my mind with unintentional things, like news apps on my phone, or I will fill my mind with tasks, like checking email or other task management apps that I have. I then thought to myself about my excuses for not meditating. I thought that I didn't have time for biblical meditation because I was "so busy" and I couldn't fit time in to sit down, empty my mind, and center my thoughts on Scripture. This was where the Holy Spirit convicted me and showed me that my down time and my "in between" time can be used for meditation. I began to think about Philippians 4:8 and how it tells me to "dwell on these things." If I am to dwell on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, or praiseworthy, then I need to set my mind on them and think about them. If I want to live out Philippians 4:8, I need to be practicing meditating on the Scriptures.

This was a big "AHA" moment for me, because I realized that my relationship with Jesus even encompasses my "in between" moments and my "down time". Instead of going to apps like ESPN, social media, Chrome, or "insert your favorite app", I soon began to construct my home screen to be more "meditation friendly". I wanted to reclaim the time that my mind was thinking about random stuff for thinking about the Lord and His Word instead.

Here is my challenge for you: take an inventory of where your mind goes in the "in between" moments. When you are in between classes, meetings, appointments, chores, your to-do list, etc., take an inventory of what your mind goes to. If it's not Philippians 4:8-approved, then what if you began filling your mind with the Scriptures and meditating on what God's word says in those moments? Instead of unfruitful things, you begin filling your mind with fruitful things.

Today, let's be people who dwell on the things of God, the Scriptures of God, and watch how our relationship with Jesus grows as we dwell.