I am continuing to find ways to adapt to the deficits caused by my stroke. The biggest ongoing challenge is excessive sensory input overload. Basically, what that means is my brain gets easily overstimulated, causing it to melt down. In my new normal, in order to not create too much chaos in my brain, I am very intentional about trying center my attention on only one person or one thing at a time, blocking out any other stimuli that my brain also tries to focus upon. As I work on improving my focus and attention, memory, processing, problem-solving by using cognitive strategies, it takes tremendous effort and energy just to complete a single task from beginning to end, easily turning peace and calm into chaos.

Let me ask you – as you go about your day, and quite possibly also as you roll around restless and sleepless during the night, is your mind at peace or is it bouncing from thing to thing? The Bible tells us that even in the midst of busyness and chaos, if we stay attuned to God, we can find calmness and peace. Easy, no. Possible, yes. In Isaiah 26:3 we find this promise, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon you, because he trusts in you.”

Bible translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, and others) that tend to be literal in their word-to-word adherence to the original language use the word stayed; not a word we regularly use in modern language. Translations (NIV, NLT, RSV, and others) that strive to convey the meaning of the text rather than its original form, called thought-for-thought, tend to use language more common to today – “whose minds are steadfast” (NIV) or “whose thoughts are fixed upon you” (NLT). The third translation method is paraphrase, of which the most familiar would The Message and The Living Bible.

That word stayed comes from a Hebrew word that literally means “to prop, or to lean, lay, rest, support,” or in other words, settled upon. In my study of the Hebrew word samak (stayed in Isaiah 26:3 above), I find several other usages, here is just two – we will be sustained (Psalm 3:5), we will be upheld (Psalm 71:6). Matthew 22:37 tells us, “You shall love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” We are also instructed to not set our minds on earthly things, but rather, on things that are above (Colossians 3:2). And if we allow ourselves to be, we can have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

I also find it interesting that in this context the word for perfect is shalom. The ancient Hebrew concept of peace, rooted in the word shalom, meant wholeness, completeness, soundness, carrying with it a sense of permanence. So, this verse literally says peace, peace.

If we keep our minds stayed upon Yahweh, we are promised perfect peace. Perfect peace is not a life free from turmoil or struggle or conflict. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that life is full of things to worry about or keep us up at night. So then, just what is this perfect peace we are promised? This peace is not tangible or visible, but rather, it is a gift offered to us by Jesus that soothes our heart, mind, and soul in those times of trouble that He said we would have. As Jesus was saying his earthly goodbye to his disciples, we find these words in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts (and I parenthetically add minds and souls) be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Amid the chaos that is often life as we know it, there can also be peace and calm. Have you ever quietly sat in the shade under a tree and experienced a temporary peace and calm flooding your soul as your mind centered (stayed) itself upon the rustling of the leaves as a gentle breeze blows through the tree? A more lasting peace and calm comes when we keep our minds stayed upon the Lord.

Will you do so right now?

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Earlier this week I wrote about a “painful” lesson learned in my childhood while visiting my grandparents in Iowa. You can read that post here. Today I share another memory from those visits, this one “sweet.”

One of my favorite things to do when visiting my maternal grandparents was help my grandma make apple cider. We would go out into her orchard and fill a wooden basket with apples. After we washed the apples in a sink in the basement, we would head upstairs to the kitchen where a wooden apple press awaited us. Grandma let me help her fill the round hopper with apples. I then watched with wide open eyes as she turned the crank, causing the pressing disk to slowly crush the apples, squeezing the juice into the tub below. Grandma always let me have a few turns of the crank, but it was hard work for a little boy. With a smile and a pat on my behind, she always told me I did a good job.

This went on for what seemed like hours, but time seemed to stand still as I helped Grandma make apple cider. Once all apples had been squeezed, and after we cleaned up the cider press, the best part was yet to come – Grandma poured me a glass of cider as I sat on her lap. To this day, I do not know which I liked better, sitting on her lap, or tasting the cider.

The apples got put under tremendous pressure, pressed and squeezed, turning their once roundness and red color into a pile of pulpy residue, called pomace. But because of the pressure exerted upon the apples, delicious juice was extracted. From a little boy’s point of view, what was left in the hopper sure didn’t look like apples anymore. But this pomace, it did not go to waste. We fed it to the hogs. And in today’s commercial apple juice processing, pomace is the major by-product, a good source of antioxidants and dietary fiber. And for your sweet tooth, apple pomace powder is used in the production of toffee.

How often do you feel like one of those apples? You know, those moments when life is pressing in on you and you wonder if the pressure is more than you can endure. You cry out to God, begging, pleading, maybe even deal-making. You sense hopelessness and despair.

In the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians, the apostle Paul bares his soul regarding his struggles, his pain of being pressed and squeezed, But, amid despair, Paul finds strength in Jesus. In vv. 8-9 we read these hopeful words – “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Those words are hopeful because in our pain Jesus reveals Himself to us. Those words are hopeful because through our pain Jesus is refining us. Those words are hopeful because out of that pain Jesus can bring sweetness.

These next words are hopeful, because in, and through, and out of, our pain, we are being made more like Jesus – “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4, MSG).

So, no matter how pressed in, pressed on, pressed under you feel, know that God is using your circumstances to make something beautiful, something majestic, something delicious, in you, like the sweet taste of my grandma’s freshly squeezed apple cider.

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I have found that some of the best lessons are learned in the “field” and not in the “laboratory.” Schooling and book knowledge are important to success in life, but it is what we learn by trial and error, by experiment, by doing dumb stuff, by failing, that are some of the best lessons learned. As a young boy I learned one of those lessons the hard way. It is a lesson that I still live by today – never pee on an electric fence. Let me explain.

My maternal grandparents lived on a farm in Iowa. When we would visit them, the city slicker in me always enjoyed the momentary farm life. I would ride with my grandpa on his tractor and help him feed the animals. My grandma and I would make apple cider.

During one particular visit, my two younger brothers and I, along with two of our cousins (all us of boys under the age of ten) were playing near grandpa’s pasture. We were throwing stones into the creek that ran near an electric fence that surrounded the field. Our goal was to cause a splash to hit the electric fence. We loved to hear the noise of water hitting the electrified rail: Zzzzzz.

I, the oldest and supposedly wisest of the group, came up with the fun idea of seeing which of us five boys could pee and hit the fence. Sounded like harmless fun. More Zzzzzz! Let me just say, I was the only boy to succeed in reaching the fence. And it was in that moment that I learned one of life’s valuable lessons – urine is a good conductor of electricity. Right now, those of you who know me are saying, “Oh, that explains a whole lot!”       

While that wisdom is important to know, as is much of the worldly wisdom we accumulate along life’s journey, gaining the wisdom of God is paramount, more important than all other wisdom, even the truth that some liquids are good conductors of electricity. The conduction of electricity inside a liquid takes place due to the movement of ions. Salts produce those ions. So, liquids that contain salt (yes, urine being one of those) are good conductors. Oil and alcohol are two examples of liquids that do not conduct electricity. Does that mean that if I would have consumed several beers before peeing on the fence that I might have had a different result? Just wondering.

Just how do we gain the wisdom of God? Solomon, considered to be the wisest man ever to live (1 Kings 4:29-34), said this about gaining wisdom – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 10:9). In this context, fear is not “being afraid,” but rather, it is awe and reverence, not wanting to disappoint.

We are also told that God gives wisdom to those who ask – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Later on, still in James, we find these words – “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (3:16-17).  

Scripture calls “blessed” (Hebrew – happy) those who seek and gain godly wisdom. Click here to read Proverbs 3, paying particular attention to verses 13-18.

And lastly, the apostle Paul tells us that even the best of the best worldly wisdom is not as valuable as the foolishness of God (1 Corinthians 1:25).

So, today, I ask – are you seeking to gain wisdom? Not just any wisdom, the wisdom of God. 

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Life is sometimes like a roller coaster. One minute you are slowly chugging up the hill and then the next minute you are plummeting down the other side at breakneck speed with the g-forces pushing you into your seat. Then, suddenly, the ride hits a bump in the track, and you are lifted out of your seat, feeling as if you are about to be launched into the air. And then the ride comes to a screeching halt. You get off dazed and dizzy only to get in line once again. Sound familiar?

The fastest wooden roller coaster in the world is Lightning Rod, located at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which hits speeds of 73 mph. Kings Island’s Son of Beast held the previous record at 78 mph, however after several major incidences, it was demolished in 2012. We rode this coaster soon after it opened in 2000 and it was a truly unforgettable two minutes and twenty seconds. Those speeds pale in comparison to the fastest steel roaster coaster, which reaches a maximum speed of 149 mph. Due to its extreme speed, riders are required to wear goggles.

Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey) houses both Goliath, which has the steepest (85 degrees) and largest vertical (180 feet) drop for wooden coasters, and Kingda Ka, which while “only” reaching a maximum speed of 128 mph, has a mind-boggling vertical drop of 418 feet, the longest drop for any roller coaster in the world! The steepest steel coaster has a drop of over 120 degrees.     

Did you know that when a roller coaster is speeding up, the force you feel is the seat pushing your body forward but because of the body’s inertia, you feel a force in front of you which pushes you into the seat? And then as the coaster reaches the top of a hill, inertia lifts you up out of the seat while the coaster car begins to descend, creating that moment of “airtime.”

While we tend to be happy or sad, enthusiastic or dispirited, hopeful or discouraged, energized or tired, based upon whether the roller coaster of life is traveling up the hill, down the hill, or around a turn, one thing remains the same through it all – God is a good and faithful and loving God, worthy of our unending praise. Psalm 107:1 reads like this, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his lovingkindess [goodness] is everlasting.”

From the writer of Chronicles, “The LORD is great and deserves our greatest praise! He is the only God worthy of our worship. Other nations worship idols, but the LORD created the heavens. Give honor and praise to the LORD, whose power and beauty fill his holy temple” (1 Chronicles 16:25-27 CEV).

And when David pretended to be insane to get out from under Saul’s intentions to murder him, here is what he wrote after being allowed to flee, found in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times, his praise will continually be in my mouth.”

Psalm 34 is an acrostic praise psalm, meaning that each new verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which consists of 22 letters, all consonants, although four of them are also employed to represent long vowels.  

So, today, whether you are chugging up the hill or speeding down the hill, whipping around a turn, being pushed into your seat or lifted out of your seat, take time to praise and worship God! There is a saying that goes like this… In the happy moments praise God, in the difficult moments seek God, in the quiet moments trust God, in the painful moments trust God, in every moment thank God. 

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We live in a world that is orderly and predictable. Everything goes as planned. There are no surprises. Think of words like balance, unanimity, systematized, normality. All words to describe the planet on which we live and the cosmos that surrounds it. Wait? What? Right now, you are asking – what world do you live in?

Okay, I must be dreaming. Chaos is more like it. How about these words – disorder, confusion, unpredictable. Is there anything in us, under us, around us, above us, that is anything but chaotic? The world in which we live is one chaotic mess, spinning faster and faster, out of control. And not just on the ground, above us as well.

Since my stroke in late 2021, my brain has a difficult time in multi stimulation environments. I have a hard time differentiating between background noises or movements and the ones I am paying attention to. For example, say you are in a restaurant. You most likely are attentive to the person sitting across from you, enjoying conversation with them. And everything else around you are nothing more than in the background. You can hear the noises throughout the space, but it is only noise. The servers moving about, nothing more than background movement to you. The guy playing the piano over in the corner, to you it simply lovely background music to add ambience. However, my brain wants to listen to all the noises and watch all the movements simultaneously. As you can imagine, that creates tremendous chaos within my brain.

So far, you might be thinking – this writing has conveyed a message that is anything but encouraging or hopeful. And you would not be too far away from the truth. This world that we find ourselves living in, on its own, is a big chaotic mess of colors.

Is there hope or should we all just lock ourselves in the basement and ride this train to some bitter end? Let me be to the point. Without God, there is not real hope. With God, who turned chaos into the heavens and the earth, there is tremendous hope, not just for today, but for every moment in time hereafter. The Bible opens this way – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:1-2a).

God started with a world that was formless and empty, one that was chaotic, and turned that chaos into an orderly creation. With God, disorder and chaos give way to order and peace. In Corinthians, we find these words – “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33a). Revelation gives us a glimpse into the end of the age which culminates with a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21); God restoring order to his creation after sin brought chaos and disorder.

And all throughout the pages of Scripture, from the first creation to this new creation, we find God offering you and me order instead of disorder, calm not chaos, hope rather than despair.

I do art therapy to help my brain interpret and communicate the chaos swirling inside. When I begin painting abstractly, my brain is chaotic, often very chaotic. As I paint, the chaos gradually gives way to order, and when I put the last brush stroke on the canvas, usually my brain is somewhat orderly again. Sometimes it takes two or three paintings, but eventually my brain settles itself.

Will you, today, and every day, put your hope and trust in an orderly God, rather than sink into hopelessness in our world, one filled with so much chaos, disorder, hopelessness? It can be said of God and with God that chaos does give way to order.

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During the course of any given day, we are inundated with sounds and noises. Our hearing system connects us to the soundscape of our environment and provides us with the tools to identify and interpret acoustic cues. Our brain then catalogs those sound patterns, allowing us recognize and process sounds in the future, both familiar and unfamiliar ones.

For many of us, there is an incessant need for constant noise. That noise helps us feel safe, because in our silence we are sometimes left to address and deal with our thoughts, thoughts that often scare us. Silence often forces us to deal with the soundtrack in our souls, a soundtrack that plays and replays worries, fears, failures, all the things that keep us up at night. It is in the silence that we most often find the rest and relaxation that our body and soul truly need. And it is in that silence that we also frequently can hear the “voice” of God.

In my opinion, one of the toughest things in our noisy world is to create enough space and silence so as to hear God’s “still, small voice”. But if we are to follow Jesus in a serious life-changing way, we must find regular time to be quiet and listen. Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Building this silence discipline into our lives requires work. It begins with a desire to carve out space. It requires giving up something, desiring to turn off the noise, and find stillness, find quietness, find stillness.

Timothy Leary, the Harvard clinical psychologist, and of hippie fame, encouraged young people in the Sixties to “turn on, tune in, drop out.” His countercultural phrase encouraged the usage of psychedelic drugs to find true consciousness. While that is certainly not my advice, I do think that if we “turn on” a sensitivity to God and His presence, if we “tune in” by listening, and if we regularly “drop out” of the noise around us, we will “find” God and be better able to hear, and be changed by, His “still, small voice.”

We find a reference to God’s still small voice, a gentle whisper, in 1 Kings 19:12. Elijah had just been victorious over all the prophets of Baal. He heard that Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab, wanted to kill him. So, Elijah ran into the wilderness to hide. God sent an angel with food and water, telling Elijah to go to Mount Horeb and wait. In that cave, Elijah voices his displeasure that all God’s prophets had been killed by Jezebel, all except him. God instructed Elijah to stand on the mountain and wait for His (God) presence. Elijah was likely expecting God’s to show up in a loud and powerful way. Yet, wind, an earthquake, and fire came and went, and no God. It is after those had passed that God spoke to Elijah, in a still, small voice. To read this story, click here.

It is important to note that God is not confined to speaking in a still small voice. He speaks to us in many ways. God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind (Job 38:1). In Psalm 104:7, God’s voice sounded like thunder. To Moses, God appeared as fire coming from a bush (Exodus 3:2). God is not limited to a single method of communicating with us. Regardless of how He chooses to speak, it is of utmost importance that we hear and recognize His voice. And at least for me, I am best suited to hear God when I carve out time and space, eliminating as many distractions as I can.       

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62:5

“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.” Job 6:24

So, take a page from the hippie playbook – turn on, tune in, drop out – and listen for God.

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