Mind of Christ: Ep 13: Resting in God's Sovereignty: Finding Peace and Clarity

0:12 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent. Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought was possible. Enlarge her territory. Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment. Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent to silence her. This isn't just a podcast. This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

0:57 I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today with our Faith on the Go series, we're going to discuss resting in God's sovereignty. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And so far, we know that our faith is growing because things are happening that will never happen, right? The mind of Christ is continuing to be matured. And so today, as we learn to rest in God's sovereignty, Sovereignty means that God knows what's happening. He sees the big picture. And we're just, we don't know where we are in that big picture.

1:39 Where your faith is leading you. We don't know where we are. We know that we have prayers out there that hasn't been answered. We know we want the mind of Christ and we're feeling, we're feeling mature, we're making wise decisions, but a God that's sovereign tells us to rest in that, we have to learn to rest in that. And so that's going to be our topic for today. And so I thank you for joining us. And that is why the space was created for those type of moments, for quiet moments, for your workday, for your commutes, and those in between places and spaces where your spirit needs to be recharged, refilled, and renewed.

2:20 The goal is for times when you're fighting battles not won yet. But already finished in Christ. We don't know where we are on this sovereignty part. We don't know where we are in our faith's journey. We don't know how close we are to getting our prayers answered. But it's for those ones who keep believing, keep pressing, keep walking, even when the road gets long and narrow. So wherever you are today, settle in and let the word of God strengthen your faith while you are on the go. Don't let nothing stop you. So today's key scripture is found in Isaiah 26, 3.

3:03 It says, you will keep in perfect peace those who minds are steadfast because they trust in you. Isaiah 26, 3. Peace is not something Jesus tried to find. It was something he carried wherever he went. Crowds followed him. Storms surround him. Religious leaders accused him, and yet his soul remained steady. When his disciples panicked on the sea, he slept through the storm, Mark 4.38. When Martha worried over many things, he calmly said, You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed, only one.

3:47 But a few things are needed, only one. Luke 10, 41-42. When soldiers came to arrest him in the garden, he still composed while others drew their sword. Jesus lived in perfect peace because he trusted the Father's control. He trusted in the Father's control. He knows that nothing could touch him unless heaven allowed it. Wow, he could rest because he was rooted, not in the moment, but in the mission. The peace he Charity was not circumstantial, it was covenantal. It came from knowing the Father's plan would never fail.

4:29 Isn't that what we're looking for? We want that type of confidence. We want that Jesus confidence, that mind of Christ confidence, that he knew he trusted in the Father, that whatever the Father has planned, it never fails. It was a covenant that he had. And we have that same covenant. And we have to trust that whatever Jesus tells us to do, we do it, that he never fails. He is a winner, and we are on the winning team. The mind of Christ is a mind at rest, not because it avoids storms, but because it knows who commands them.

5:12 Peace and clarity come from trust. When your thoughts are anchored in truth, confusion loses its grip. When faith is grounded in God's sovereignty, anxiety cannot uproot you. Jesus promised, peace I leave with you, peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives, but let not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. That's a word from Jesus. He says, I leave you with this peace. I give you this peace. It's not the world's peace, which is conditional, right? But is this so, this is so that your heart's.

5:57 May not be troubled, and do not be afraid. That's how we must trust in the Lord. No matter what's shaking, no matter what's moving, we have got our eyes focused on Jesus. He's our answered prayer. He's our peace when we need our peace. His peace is not passive. It's powerful. It calms the soul and clears the mind. That's why Philippians 4, 7 says it, guard your heart and mind because peace is not a feeling it's a shield whoa revelation peace is not a feeling it's a shield and you know what that means when you're in a chaotic situation and you have the peace of God everybody's wondering what you're gonna do what you're gonna do you said I'm gonna listen to whatever the Lord tells me to do I'm gonna do that and then when you come through that storm and they look at you, they're looking like, wow, just like the Hebrew boys in the fire, you don't even smell like smoke.

7:03 Clarity flows from calm. You cannot discern clearly when you are emotionally flooded. That's why Jesus modeled stillness before every major decision. Withdrawing to pray until the spirit and mind were settled in the Father's will. Luke 6, 12. I spoke about that on other episodes, finding that stillness. When you find that stillness, you're finding what is God saying? Where does he want me to be? What does he want me to do? Settle yourself. Remember, peace be still. You're speaking over your mind, speaking over your body. Yes, it's a lot of anxiety.

7:45 Yes, I feel like this. My body doesn't know how to respond. But yet, you sit until you're settled. Just like Jesus did. Peace and clarity are not luxuries. They are birthrights for the believer. If the prince of peace lives in you, peace should rule, not chaos. So ask yourself, where am I losing peace because I'm trying to control what I can't? Do I pause and pray when confusion comes or do I push through without listening? Have I confused busyness with purpose or silence with absence. Remember, God's sovereignty means he never loses control even when you lose sight.

8:30 Peace is not the absence of noise, but the awareness of his nearness. Walk it out like Jesus. How did Jesus do that? How did he decide to do what he did? Let's go. Number one, pause before you react. Breathe before you respond. Jesus waited for direction before answering his accusers. John 8, 6 through 8. He says, pause. How many times do we not pause? If we pause long enough, we won't say what we say. We won't do what we do. We won't have regret because we're following him in everything he tells us to do.

9:16 Pause before you react will save you a lot of time. A lot of hurt people have been hurt because people just say what they got to say and they don't have a pause button. but Jesus waited for a direction before answering his accusers. Number two, anchor your thoughts in truth. Declare Isaiah 26.3 over yourself when anxiety arises. Meditate on his promises daily. Philippians 4.8. We're doing this for 14 days. If you're following me, I've been on this for I'm almost going into my third year. We are doing great things. Why? Because we are anchoring our thoughts and truth.

10:01 We are not going to walk in anxiety. We will have the mind of Christ. We're going to meditate on his promises. What you meditate on becomes big. And you'll be like, wait a minute. That can happen. That can happen. Yes, it can happen. Why? Because your faith is making you whole. That's good. Number three, rest in God's timing. Jesus deliberately delayed Lazarus miracles, Lazarus miracles, when we raised him from the dead, John 11, 6, because peace trusts divine timing, even when it seems late. Even when it's, it ain't God being late. He's saying, even when it seems late, it ain't late to God. It just seems late to us.

10:48 So Lazarus was still dead, whether they came on the first day or the fourth day, remember? But they, Jesus waited because he waited on God's timing. And in God's timing, he raised Lazarus from the dead, from dead, from the dead. So you have to be able to trust in God's timing. Number four, pray for perspective, not just resolution. That's powerful. Ask God, what are you showing me in this? I know, rather than when will this end? We want things to end. He says, I'm working on you. Lord, what are you showing me in this? Because sometimes we'll have such a bad, maybe whatever happens in our life. And sometimes that incident, my last, I had one that lasted almost two years.

11:37 And it's like, Lord, what are you showing me in this? And I learned so much in those two years. First of all, walking by faith, picking up your Bible, reading it. When you're back up against, when your back is up against the wall and you need Jesus to move, guess what? You will get in your word. You will pray. You will ask him like, what can it, when is this going on? I didn't know when it was going to end. My goodness. And then when it ended, I just felt like, you know, you just hit the floor like an empty bag sack. I'm like, whew. But that wasn't the fight. The fight's not over because it's done. That just taught me how to fight. And so I thought that was this.

12:20 I was like, oh my gosh, I don't want to have to go through that again. But you learn how to fight. You learn how to fight when you ask God for his perspective. And that's the According to James 1.5, let's do number five. Let go to grow. Surrender what you can't fix. True clarity comes after release. Surrender what you can't fix. Surrender what you can't fit. Wow. I mean, let it go. And you know, there's always something I think a saying says, let it go. If it returns, then it's yours. If it didn't, then it was never yours to begin with.

13:02 Sometimes we have to let things go. According to Psalms 4610, let it go. Let's pray. Father, thank you for being the keeper of peace. When life feels uncertain, remind me that you are still in control. Quiet the storms in my mind and bring clarity to my thoughts. Teach me to rest in your timing and trust your process. Help me to live from stillness, not striving. And let your peace guide my heart like a shield. And your word guides me, guides my steps like light. In Jesus' name, amen. I decree I have the mind of Christ.

13:42 My thoughts are steady. My heart is calm and my spirit is anchored in peace. Confusion cannot control me. Fear cannot shape me. I rest in God's sovereignty and clarity flows freely through my trust in him. What situation in your life right now needs you to stop striving and start trusting? And how can resting in God's sovereignty bring you back, bring back your peace and clarity? Powerful. Where do you need to stop striving and start trusting? Ask the Father, and he will tell you. Wow, you've been listening to Faith on the Go with your host, Connie Morris from Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I pray that this word energizes your faith and reminded you of God's promise. What did he promise?

14:32 That he'll give you perfect peace as you rest on his sovereignty. Stop striving and let it go. Why? Because God said in Isaiah 55, 11, that so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It should not return to me void, but it should accomplish what I please and should prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Father, prosper the word of peace in the lives of your listeners today. Let that word not return void, but let it prosper where it was said. Let us not strive, but let us just walk in obedience to you, listening to your voice.

15:19 And let us trust, Lord God, that you will finish the work that you have started. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. So today we receive that truth. You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray. You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue.

16:01 You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small. Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.