Wednesday Wanderings is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined Thought Idols and finished our reflections from “Holy Spirit, Light Divine”. This week we begin a journey through “It Is Well with My Soul” ponder Determining to Let Sorrows Come and Go. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: 2 Kings 4:26

Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.

This is a fascinating story from 2 Kings, but suffice it to say, sometimes when we say all is well, we may not really mean it.

Spafford puts forth a powerful truth here which cost him greatly to learn. If you do not know the story, you may watch more about it here. He lost four daughters at sea and it is said he penned these words about “sorrows like sea billows” near the spot where their ship is likely to have gone down.

PARABLE:  When the mother in this story says these words to Elisha’s servant, it seems as though she was only saying them to be able to get close the the prophet, for when she did she fell at his feet pleading for her son who had died. Elisha sent his servant ahead but he was unable to raise him. Even Elisha fails at first but persists and is able to raise the boy to life.

The Shunammite woman was wealthy and had used her means to care for Elisha by providing him a place to stay whenever he traveled near her home. He wished to show his gratitude and promised here a son, though her husband was old. This precious son became ill with a headache and died, and her first response is to go the the man of God. This turns out to be an excellent expression of faith.

This is a very interesting story as we consider the different characters, their words and roles in it, and the outcome. Like Spafford, the woman was able to say all is well, even when her soul was likely not feeling well. Unlike the woman, Spafford did not see his daughters raised, but it did not keep him from declaring “it is well.”

Both are truly incredible stories of faith in action which leave us pondering what our response might be as we wander along our path of faith.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the questions: How will I respond when faced with the most difficult of trials to the wellness of my soul?

This soul training contemplative exercise can assist us in determining how we hope to respond in those moments. Making that decision now greater impacts the likelihood we will at least approximate it when the time comes.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Imagine the sea billows of sorrow that will come at some point in the future.
• Next,  begin your slow and steady breath, like the ebb and flow of waves- remember a past sorrow, and how it made you feel. Like the waves on a beach, think of how they come with such power, and retreat with such seeming gentleness. Determine not to fight that flow, but instead let them come and go.  Imagine you are the shore, and though the waves my pound, your soul will be well.
• Then, let each sorrow come one at a time, and then retreat with calmness, even though it has likely changed you a bit.
• Finally, thank God that even when the waves sweep something away, His love for your and the power to overcome it provides remains intact.

PRAYER: Jesus, I decide to trust You to care for my soul even when the waves of sorrow assail me. There is no stopping them, just like the waves of a storm on the sea, but that does not mean they have to be the end of me. Help me to trust You to keep my soul well, even in the tempest. I determine now to rest in You through it all. In Your powerful name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to think of Jesus and let the work of your wandering fill you with thoughts that confirm God’s Word.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Determining to Let Sorrows Come and Go appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:}
Elisha Raising the Shunammite Woman’s Son – https://www.speedmuseum.org/collections/elisha-raising-the-shunammites-son/
_{Sorrows like Sea Billows Roll – https://pixabay.com/photos/recco-sea-storm-storm-pano-4277787/}

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined Entitlement. This week we will explore Thought Idols. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: Phillipians 4:8

⁸ Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

Centering on “these things” and implanting them in our heart will keep us mindful of what is valuable to us and prevent us from the thought idols that take over our thoughts of Christ.

Reed invites the Holy Spirit to dwell within his heart because he recognizes that what he treasures will be what preoccupies his thoughts.

PARABLE:  An idol is anything that has become the object on which we dwell our attention. To dwell is to linger, spend time thinking about, muse over, and even to be obsessed with something or someone. What is in your heart will dwell in your your thoughts. In mental health, ruminating thoughts are described as the excessive and intrusive thoughts about negative experiences and feelings. A person who has experienced trauma may be unable to stop thinking about the traumatic event. A person with depression may persistently think negative thoughts and thoughts that are self-defeating. A common intervention for ruminating thoughts is thought stopping. Thought stopping is a cognitive intervention technique that interrupts, removes, and replaces recurring thoughts. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic occurrence that has affected the world. It is challenging to not allow it to occupy our minds and our hearts when the news, the death of unknown people and loved ones, and personal protective equipment are constant reminders. How do we prevent COVID-19 from becoming a thought idol that we persistently mull over in our minds?  By dileberately intervening with thought stopping and thinking on things that are lovely and bring peace and that are right and are confirmed by God’s word we will make the emotional space for God whom we treasure, cast down the emotional deterrents of COVID-19, allow God to reign supreme, and dwell within our hearts.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the questions: How can I clear my head, heart, and spirit space and make room for thoughts that direct me to think about Jesus?

The soul training  contemplative thought relsease visualization exercise can assist us to move over the things that distract us from making room in our minds and hearts and treasuring Jesus.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Imagine a bright blue sky across the landscape of your mind dotted with white clouds. Imagine that each and every cloud represents a single thought in your mind and the thought idols that have your attention. Perhaps it is COVID-19, your job, or your children.
• Next,  begin your slow and steady breath– imagine your breath as a gentle breeze, moving the clouds across the blue skyline. Watch the clouds as they move across your mind, carried by the gentle breeze of your breath, one thought at a time.  Observe the thought as it passes. Watch it without judgment or critcism, and without blame of self or others.
• Then, let each thought pass one at a time, carried by a gentle breeze across the landscape of your mind.
• Finally, replace the thought idols with thoughts that are true, honorable,  just,  pure, lovely,  commendable,  excellent, and worthy of praise,

PRAYER: Jesus, I move over anything that is keeping me from making you the Lover of my Soul. Consume my thoughts until I dwell on you. Social media, my job, my family, COVID-19, my grief–please move all of these over until all I see is you. The supernatural law of breakthrough is pursuing God, ruminating on His Truths over and over until you see healing and deliverance. I commit to making You my priority and pursuing thoughts of You in expectation that as a result, peace will come. In Your loving name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to think of Jesus and let the work of your wandering fill you with thoughts that confirm God’s Word.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Thought Idols appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:
Whatsoever is true: Google Images
Thoughts of you: belovedwomen.org with text added}

Bonus Reflection:

COVID-19 has afforded some of us time to do some of the things we have wished we had time to do. As we phase back in to opening our country, let us not forget the blessings of time and how we have had the opportunity to slow down our busyness addictions and MAKE ROOM for time with and thoughts of God. If you choose, take five minutes and listen to and reflect on the song by Jonathan McReynolds. Take it as a reminder to Make Room for God, invite Him to live in your thoughts, and make Him your priority.