Our vulnerability is exactly where God’s strength becomes visible. We are not too complicated for God. We are never too fearful, too confused, too distracted, or broken for God.  When we are weak, humility takes up residence. The Spirit of God reminds us that we are not failing because of our heavy thoughts. We are human, and God knew all our days when He knit us together in our mothers womb. He knows our battle for control, He knows our fears, and He knew our seasons of overwhelm that would bring us to our knees. He chose us,  He loves us and He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, teach, and restore our faith in God when we doubt.  The Holy Spirit steps in to reclaim the territory of our mind that ran down too many rabbit trails. He offers renewal, restoration, and peace amidst the spiritual battle within. There is a breaking point in every believer’s walk when God begins to confront not the storm outside, but the storm within. His living word teaches at this exact place, where the Holy Spirit starts to peel back the layers of what has been happening in our thoughts. Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” A tree sucks up nourishment from the constant flow of living water. The Psalm does symbolize the stability of our sustenance by God as we look to Him.

Romans 11 “Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. For IF their REJECTION brought RECONCILIATION to the world, what will their ACCEPTANCE be but LIFE from the DEAD? If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a WILD olive SHOOT, have been GRANTED in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do NOT consider yourself to be SUPERIOR to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do NOT support the root, but the ROOT supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were BROKEN OFF because of UNBELIEF, and you stand by FAITH. Do NOT be ARROGANT, but TREMBLE. For if God did NOT SPARE the natural branches, HE will not spare you either. Consider therefore the KINDNESS and STERNNESS of God: STERNNESS to those who fell, (to those who did not seek God with all their heart)  but kindness to you, PROVIDED that you continue in HIS kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do NOT persist in UNBELIEF, they will be GRAFTED in, for GOD is ABLE to graft them in again. After all, IF you were cut out of an olive tree that is WILD by nature, and contrary to nature were GRAFTED into a cultivated olive tree, how much MORE READILY will these, the NATURAL branches, be GRAFTED into their own olive tree! I do NOT want you to BE IGNORANT of this MYSTERY, brothers and sisters, so that you may NOT be CONCEITED: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this WAY all ISRAEL will be SAVED. As it is written:  “The deliverer will come from Zion; HE will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is MY covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the GOSPEL is concerned, they are ENEMIES for your sake; but as far as ELECTION is concerned, they are LOVED on account of the patriarchs, for God’s GIFTS and HIS CALL are IRREVOCABLE. Just as you who were at one time DISOBEDIENT to God have now received MERCY as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has BOUND EVERYONE over to disobedience so that HE may have MERCY on them all. Oh, the DEPTH of the RICHES of the WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE of GOD!  How unsearchable HIS judgments, and HIS paths beyond tracing out! “Who has KNOWN the MIND of the Lord? Or who has been HIS counselor? Who has ever given to God  that God should repay them? For from HIM and through HIM and for HIM are all things. To HIM be the glory forever! AMEN

While we seek God with all our heart, we may not see Him working yet, but what has been weighing on the hearts of His people is not simply stress or emotion. It is a spiritual battle for our attention, our focus, and our peace. The Holy Spirit  steps in to reclaim the territory of our minds giving into fear. Many people believe the greatest spiritual battles happen in the world around them, but the Bible makes truth very clear. The real battleground is the mind. Paul wrote a letter to plead with all believers to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Not to renew our circumstances, our finances, not even by the renewing of relationships, but the renewing of our mind. Our Father knows that if our mind is renewed, everything else in our life will begin to align with His Word. The Holy Spirit not only comforts us, He retrains our mind, rewires our thought patterns and removes the root of fear and confusion that has dominated our thinking.  Look at the life of Elijah, a prophet chosen by God.  Fire fell from heaven when he prayed, rain came after years of drought because Elijah declared it. There was boldness in his voice, authority in his steps, and God’s anointing on everything he touched. And yet, even Elijah reached a moment when his mind became overwhelmed. Immediately after defeating hundreds of false prophets,  a single threat from Jezebel pushed Elijah into a state of mental collapse. He ran, he hid, and he isolated himself. Elijah stood in the power of God and then quickly sought refuge under a tree asking God to take his life. The reality of overthinking is that it always causes a weakness in our faith. At times it comes after our greatest victories. Other times it comes when the enemy cannot stop us externally, so he tries to wear us down internally. Elijah had the anointing, he had the calling, he had a daily dependency on God, but his mind became so burdened that he could not see the truth anymore. NOTE what did God did. Our compassionate Father did not scold him, He did not reject Elijah, God did not abandon him. Our Father meets us where we are. With a gentle voice He encourages us to rest and take nourishment in His Word. This lifted Elijah out of despair and restored his vision. The Holy Spirit does the same for us when we surrender all to Him.

We know when our thoughts have been spinning out of control.  It is easy as we contemplate the dark times in which we live. Our thoughts get louder than our faith, as if the voice of fear has drowned out the voice of God. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways like ours. God is never intimidated or surprised by our thoughts or our ways. He is not overwhelmed by our needs or emotions. Our Father is not frustrated by our many questions. Our same Father met Elijah in the cave and whispered life back into him. His voice was not in the thunder, the fire, or the avalanche of bad news. God’s whisper reaches all those who are still enough to hear Him. He brings calmness to our atmosphere, clarity to our thoughts, and strength to our spirit. Overthinking convinces us that everything depends on us. The Holy Spirit reminds us that everything depends on God. Overthinking magnifies the problem. The Holy Spirit magnifies the One who can solve it. Overthinking imagines the worst. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth. And the truth is this, God has already gone ahead of us. He has prepared the way and already secured the victory for us. He has already handled what our mind is afraid of facing. The fear we feel during these last days is not a sign that God has abandoned us. It is a sign that He is calling us to trust Him on a deeper level. After Elijah’s breakdown, after his exhaustion, after his fear, God gave him new instructions. God gave Elijah a new assignment. God gave him a fresh vision for the future. Our exhaustion does not disqualify us. Our faith in Jesus is not invalid because it has been shaken. Our calling is not canceled because our thoughts have been anxious. When God renews our mind, He restores our mission. He strengthens what was weak. He aligns what was scattered. He breathes purpose back into places that felt empty. The Holy Spirit removes mental clutter that has been sitting inside our thoughts for too long. He shines a light on lies we believed without realizing we were deceived. He breaks patterns we didn’t know were spiritual chains. He reminds us that our Creator is the only one who can heal and restore us.
This revelation enters the spirit of those who choose to be still and know God. Feel His presence as He shifts our thinking onto things above. His peace is the calmness that we depend on in all circumstances. Jesus is sufficient and our trust in Him is our confidence. We do not need to understand everything.  His peace does not depend on us knowing what comes next. This is the peace Jesus promised when He said, “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” The world tries to give peace through control. Jesus gives peace through surrender. The world tells us to fix everything. Jesus tells us to give everything to Him. The world tells us to understand first and trust later. Jesus invites us to trust first and discover His way is best always. When we are willing to let go, when we finally loosen our grip, something supernatural begins to happen. Any anxiety loses its authority, the fear loses its voice, the storm loses its power, because the Holy Spirit fills the space where our overthinking once lived, and without even realizing it, we begin to breathe again. Our heart begins to soften, our mind begins to rest. We begin to see that trusting God is not a risk, it is the safest thing we can do. It is not the absence of thought, it is the alignment of our thoughts. It is not shutting down our mind, it is giving our mind a new foundation built on truth, not fear.