You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 
-Isaiah 26:3

Doom scrolling is the new reality tv, where we go to numb our anxious minds, and check out from growing to do lists, dwindling resources, and the people who are pulling us in every direction. Unfortunately, as studies show, this innocent habit that promises temporary rest actually makes us more anxious (of course, we don’t really care what studies show because we’re going to do it anyway, probably while sitting in our cars when the rest of our family thinks we’re running errands - guilty as charged). 

 God has a better solution for our restless minds. Of course he does! It’s an ancient one that continues to challenge our natural tendencies and prove superior to any other option – perfect peace through staying our minds on the Lord, and trusting in him.

 
Perfect peace is translated from the repeated Hebrew word shalom. In Hebrew, repeated words show intensity. This isn’t just peace, it’s perfect, complete, and whole peace. Quietness of soul. And the promise of God is he will keep us here. 

How? This kind of peace comes through staying, or setting, our minds on the Lord, not ourselves, not our circumstances, and not our weaknesses. It’s leaning on his understanding and not our own. It’s synonymous, in this verse, with trusting in the Lord. We stay our minds on what we trust as a way of life, in this case, God.  

Does this seem overly simple? Perhaps. But retraining our thought patterns and adjusting our coping mechanisms can be difficult.  Our minds are often neglected battlegrounds. We tend to let our imaginations spiral into the what-ifs, and focus more on our feelings and actions. We tend to slide into coping mechanisms without thinking. Actions and feelings flow from our minds. This is why it’s ever important to guard our minds and what we input on a regular basis. 

This isn’t a magic trick or special formula. Staying, or fixing, our minds on the Lord is effective because the Lord himself is effective. He is powerful, and “is an everlasting rock” (26:4).  We can place our trust in God because he is trustworthy. 

We’re wise to nurture our relationship with God, and establish habits that contribute to staying our minds, in the good times. Through worship (Isaiah 26 was originally written as a song), memorizing scripture, spending time in the Word and prayer, we can exercise this “staying” muscle. Through sitting with the Lord and consciously dwelling in his presence, we can let his peace keep us.

So take inventory. What are your coping mechanisms for times of anxiety? What inputs sustain your mind and what steps will you take to protect it?