“Mind stayed on thee”: What
exactly does this mean? Especially in these
days of constant turmoil? And what is “perfect”
peace?
Once, during a missionary trip to India, we
were in a large city at the very tip of India
called Rameshswaram. They were having a Hindu
festival at that time, and there was loud music,
drum beats, and shouting among the thousands
celebrating. We had come there to hold a
little meeting with a few local Christians outside
on the sandy beach, but we could not even hear
ourselves speak with such a distraction. So
we left and went into a small village that had a
State of India hostel and got a room. It was
very sparse, no television, nothing but the beds.
Just then the electricity went off. We could not
even read a book. But the view from the
window was facing the ocean and it had a small
veranda where we could sit and relax. And so we
moved outside.
We were completely in the dark, except for a
reflection of moonlight on the water
outside. We had a small cassette
player with some beautiful praise music, so we
turned it on and were enjoying it when suddenly a
large group of dogs appeared. They all sat
down below us and seemed to be enjoying the
peaceful setting, resting. It was such an
unusual thing, that I said "let's turn off the
music and see what happens". When we did,
all the dogs got up and left!
Then we turned it on again, and here they
came--lying down below us as before. It
startled us. So we experimented.
After doing this several times, we saw that if
the music was not playing, they left. If it
was playing, they came and sat down. I knew that
dogs in those villages never knew what peaceful,
spiritual music sounded like; but here they
were--enjoying it just as we were!! They
could recognize a difference!
Recently, I was reading something along this
line of thought concerning the oft-unanswered
question about our inability to hear God speak;
Can’t we see the problem? Isn’t it because
we too are caught up in life’s festivals and
celebrations, involving ourselves with its many
distractions that cause us to keep our ears and
thoughts away from the true and living God?
Once, when I was in a very large airport, I had
a couple of hours between flights. I usually
looked to the Holy Spirit to lead me to someone I
can witness to about our Lord. But I walked up and
down the corridors and could not find anyone who
seemed a likely subject. Nearly everyone was
either holding a cell phone, an ipod, a
laptop, or was absorbed in some picture on the
television. Finally, I gave up and went into
a MacDonalds to get something to eat. I had
not even finished with the purchase, when a lady
walked up to me. “If you would like to
sit with me and my husband, you can come with me”.
When I did, I found them to be God’s children and
we had lovely, wonderful fellowship together over
our meal. I felt like one of those
Rameshswaram canines back in India.
If God has numbered every hair on our heads, He
also knows all our anxious thoughts and concerns.
That’s why, even when we have absorbed ourselves
with the things of this world, He still calls out,
“Adam, Adam, wherefore art thou, Adam?,
inviting us to lie down with Him in the cool of
the evening, enjoying the things our Heavenly
Father seeks to share with us.
The perfect peace God wants to give us comes
from having our minds “stayed on Him”. When
we do that, fears and anxieties melt away quickly
just as those Rameshswaram canines discovered.
And we too can lie down in green pastures with
that peace which passes all
understanding.
MARY E ADAMS