The Filter

Thoughts are relentless. How many times have you heard someone storm off in frustration saying, “I just need to clear my head!” When they return I’m always tempted to ask, “Did it work?” Knowing you need to do it is one thing, but accomplishing such a feat is another. I’ve stepped outside to “clear” my head many times, and yet I’ve found that I end up breathing in more jam-packed ideas and thoughts than I had before. With so much in my head, it’s hard to relax…in fact, it’s hard to concentrate on what I really should be thinking about…like making God smile, showing my husband how much I love him, and living every moment as if it really is as important as we don’t realize it to be. So how does one forget about the troubles of the day? How does one voluntarily alter the mind’s capacity for thought explosions? How does one move on from the all-consuming, overwhelming, brain-doodles that are treating my brain like a pinball machine on turbo?

Filter. It’s as simple and complex as that.

I know I’m not the only one who can’t stop thinking about everything at once, but the point is not to stop thinking, but to filter our thoughts to the point that we are in tune to the music beyond the noise. A friend and I were chatting away at a noisy restaurant when suddenly, she stopped and said, “Sh! Do you hear that? The song that’s playing? I love that song!” Hoping I would also recognize it, she told me the name and the artist and what it was about… “Remember!? C’mon you have to know that song!” But, for the life of me, I couldn’t hear a thing. No distinct words…no tunes that stood out…no memory-jogging vocal patterns…just intermittent blurbs of a melody that blended in seamlessly to the surrounding clatter and chatter. Why couldn’t I hear it? Was her hearing better than mine? I wanted to listen in too! Maybe I needed a q-tip, or maybe it just wasn’t my song to hear, but the point is that a filter is necessary if we wish to “clear” anything. Try to get away from all the noise and you’ll probably see that it follows you. Try to distract yourself with work or other things, and you’ll probably find that it piles up on you. Try to filter it, and you’ll probably find that you can’t do it alone. That’s right- do not try this at home without God-supervision. One of my favorite verses in Romans reads, “The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Are you missing your life? Have you lost your peace? Do you want to hear the music? Good news: the filter is free…so use it! Invite the Spirit to be your mind’s guide. Only He can turn your head into a tuning fork. Then you will be able to say “Sh! Do you hear that? The voice that’s speaking to me? I love that voice!”

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…And the God of peace will be with you.” - Philippians 4:6-9