Dwelling Continually Upon God

Madame Guyon (1648-1717) wrote "Your main concern lies in dwelling continually upon the God who is within you....all you need to do is remain steadfast in giving your utmost attention to God. He will do all things well" in Experience the Depths of Jesus Christ. This is similar to what Rich Warren says in Purpose Driven Life. He states that when we fix our thoughts on God then God fixes our thoughts. ("You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You!" Isaiah 26:3 NLT and "Set your minds of things that are above, not on things that are on earth" Colossians 3:2)

Most of us have rather undisciplined thoughts. We have millions of shiny objects, glistening and shimmery things that want attention. However, we are fully capable of telling these thoughts "NO." I am fond of saying that "not every bunny must be chased because with some experience, we know that the carrot some bunnies lead us to are poisonous and not good for human consumption." The truth remains that sometimes out of habit I choose to follow that bunny. It might be because I want to indulge some bad habit like anger, jealousy, or lust.

With a little effort and a lot of God's gracious work in our lives, we can set our minds on God. We can develop habits of the mind that return us to thinking, fixing, and dwelling on the things of God and the ways of God. We can grow in this. 

I challenge you to try this. Choose an activity that you do seven times a day. This can be getting in your car, making phone calls, checking your e-mail, washing your hands, fixing your hair...choose something you do habitually and without much concentration. Decide that when you engage in this activity, you will dwell on God. It might feel natural for you to sing a hymn or praise song, give thanks, say the Lord's prayer, or some other scripture you have memorized. If you do this, actually turning your attention to God in the regular everyday activities, then you will find that your mind will develop habits of dwelling on God. It may require some experimenting and some guidance from God and others more seasoned in a life of prayer, but eventually you will notice that your thoughts are changing. The glistening and shimmery things do not hold the same appeal as they once did. The bunnies are still cute and furry, but their appeal is just not what it used to be.

Here is the sermon that I preached last week that includes this idea and some others.
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