Be Mindful!
What exactly does this mean? In some cultures, this is a spiritualistic and meditative contemplation. Read these next words and be mindful of the significance in your own life’s journey, “Ponder and deliberate before you make a move” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War).
Do you find that thought extremely powerful? Is it powerful enough to ponder in our journey, our healing walk, our daily existence? I am not talking about a spiritualism of an, Ohm sort, but a meditative mindful manner of who we are now, where we have come from, what we have gone through, how we made it through it, and why we are here still (you know those who, where, what, how, and why things).
PTSD is horrible, it brings us into the past invasions of the soul that we have already walked through numerous times, with sleepless nights. If you are like me, it has altered your moods, blurred your vision (emotionally, spiritually, cognitively, physically). I need to be mindful, more so today, than yesterday, and if the Lord should tarry - I will learn to be more mindful the next day.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14, ESV). Here the Psalmist is praying, pleading that the words from and of his mouth and the meditation of his heart would be acceptable, pleasing, and right in the eyes of the Lord. The Psalmist calls the Lord his rock and redeemer.
He is my rock, the firm footing on which I will stand in the midst of pain, and joy. He is my redeemer - having brought me out of a dark pit, placing my feet solidly on the rock. How can I not be mindful of this day-to-day?
PTSD is not who I am - I am a child of the Living God through the shed blood of Christ on the cross who died for my penalty to redeem and ransom me. I can trust in His salvation, His provision, His timing and healing. He has never failed me, nor will He.
Be mindful of this my friends. You may be struggling now, but set your mind on the things above and not the things here on the earth which are temporary and fleeting. Your turmoil and affliction is but for a moment - your eternity in heaven is eternal and you will have no pain or PTSD there.
Listen to these words, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways” (Psalm 119:15, ESV).
אָשִׂ֑יחָה in the Hebrew means to ponder, sing, meditate on, and this is a biblical concept of meditating on things, to think on them, to sing over them, to ponder them deeply and hold them dearly.
So? Can you ponder before you make a move? This doesn’t just work in military strategies, or eating habits, but it can work in your life as you meditate on the things of the Lord - what He is doing in your life, what He has already done in your life and along your journey to healing. Ponder those things, think on them, hide them in your heart! When this happens as a daily - healthy pattern, you become more aware of those good things, you are able to see your struggles with trauma a little differently, the door will open to you for a word from the Lord to speak into your pain, and bring you through it - perhaps even heal you from it.
The apostle Paul says this, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8, NKJV).
Can you see the things we ought to dwell on and meditate on? Easier said than done, especially when trauma has happened, or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or other external (and internal) factors are in place. The Lord is faithful! The apostle Paul continues the thought process in the next verse -
“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9, NKJV).
If you are not familiar with the Bible, or the plight of Paul, he was arrested, detained in prisons, left for dead by his own countrymen whom he was in peril by, he was bitten by a poisonous snake (and lived), he was mistreated in many ways, shipwrecked, and so-much more. While he was in prison it turned out for the furtherance of the gospel (see Philippians 1:12). He was able to be a minister in his chains, Paul was able to be mindful of the eternal things not merely his situation (which was excruciating for him at times). Paul pleaded with the Lord to remove something very painful in his life, but the Lord actually told Paul NOPE. The Lord reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient (read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
I believe we need to learn to be more mindful of the things of God, the true and only God, and in so doing - we may find healing there, as we submit to His will, His word, His way… He may very well bring the healing at a moment you least expect it - but in the waiting learn to serve Him in the pain since the purpose is larger than you or me. The things we see now, and walk through now are temporary (read 1 John 2:15-17).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+2%3A15-17&version=NKJV
We all fall, we all feel turmoil, anxieties, and so-forth and yet the Lord is waiting for us to turn to Him with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6) He wants to guide us through the PTSD. Will you be more mindful of Him, or perhaps Be mindful of Him today for the first time?
Trust Him - He won’t let you down!
Be mindful today of this truth.
Blessings over you my friends.