5th May 2024, 3:24 pm, London
We’ve all been there before: everything is going well, you feel at peace, and then all of a sudden it seems like you’re surrounded by a flurry of negative thoughts. Sometimes these thoughts can appear somewhat violent, making us secretly feel afraid. Perhaps we even start asking questions like “Am I okay?” because it seems to come out of nowhere.
What I described above was in short what I experienced on this day. I was in such a beautiful place: a deep sense of joy, contentment, and peace. And then it felt like from nowhere there was a flurry of arrows thrown at my mind. As it started I got a bit upset. It felt like such a buzzkill. “Go away!” were the words I seemed to shout because it was so irritating.
As I started getting visibly irritated I sensed the Holy Spirit share a beautiful analogy. He whispered deep in my spirit: Think of your mind as a house on a rock and negative thoughts as a violent wind. I cocked my head to the side and tried to paint a picture of what He said.
A house built on a solid rock always stands.
He continued “They are just thoughts. You can choose to let them in or not give them a second thought because you know that your mind is built on solid rock, i.e. Me.” As He shared this analogy, I felt a deep sense of peace.
Let’s dissect The House vs. The Wind analogy:
- The house = our mind
- The wind = negative thoughts
- Sometimes we have negative thoughts that come to attack and oppress us in our minds
- Like the wind, we can’t control when or how the wind moves nor when it chooses to howl violently outside our house
- We can however choose if we want these negative thoughts to marinate in our hearts or minds (similar to the house: you can either let the wind in by opening the door or windows. That part is your choice)
- When it’s a stormy day the wind may howl violently outside and it can feel like it’ll tear the house down
- When this happens we have to trust that because we are of Christ, our house (our mind) won’t be torn apart. It can feel like it but it won’t
- Instead make yourself a cup of tea inside the house and let the wind be just that: the wind
So whenever you find yourself in a place where you’re being bombarded with a flurry of negative or annoying thoughts don’t give them a second thought. I remember one of my favourite preachers, Pastor Stephanie Ike, speaking about thoughts that enter the mind. She said “one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is to mask his thoughts in your mind and convince you that they are yours.” In short, be careful what thoughts you allow to sit and marinate in your mind.
Here is a scripture that I feel also gives an insight into the analogy:
““Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
Matthew 7:24-25 NLT
The wind will always be the wind. You have to make a decision to remain calm in the home and trust that because you built your house on solid ground, you will not be overthrown. Your mind will remain intact indeed. Not just intact, but it will continue to be fruitful for as long as it remains fixed on God.
Be still and know that you are safe in His hands.
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
“Lord, you keep those people safe who continue to trust in you. You give them peace in their minds, because they believe in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 EASY
I hope this helps someone.
Love always,
Tumi
