Stay Mind, Stay!
by: Donna Long
October 22, 2025
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”
Do you ever have trouble keeping your mind focused on Jesus during your quiet time? Thinking about this issue reminded me of trying to teach my dog to “stay!” That’s one of the hardest commands for a dog to learn because they don’t want to stay still. There are too many things going on, or going by, like a squirrel, or another dog, or a car, to name a few.
I’m trying to learn to keep my mind “stayed” on Jesus more each day like the scriptures say. But wow, does it try to hop up and run off chasing squirrels! The Lord gave the Israelites a wonderful promise about staying focused on Him, not just during their quiet times, but their “all” times, which we too can claim.
However, the Israelites undoubtedly had a problem with “staying” too. I was recently reading a corporate prophetic word in which it was said that “the Lord was inviting His people deeper into stillness and listening prayer and waiting upon Him to speak.” In Isaiah chapter 30 the Lord gave the Israelites a wonderful invitation to come to Him, to rest and be quiet in Him, gaining confidence and strength. However, unfortunately He goes on to say, “…But you would not,…”
“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength. But you would not,…” (AMPC, Isaiah 30:15).
One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 23. To me, there is no better picture of walking with Jesus in quietness and peace, keeping my mind stayed on Him, even during the dark times of our lives. The Passion Translation has a really picturesque version of this Psalm that I want to share with you today.
Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace near the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me the right path and leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name. Even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of You until my cup overflows. So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious presence to be forever with you (The Passion Translation, Psalm 23; God’s pronouns capitalized for clarity).
The Lord desires us, exhorts us throughout His Word to draw close to Him, no matter the circumstances, or especially because of the circumstances. He so desires intimate times with us, when we will listen to His heart, or just be comfortable being with Him. I continue to ask His help in this because of the distracting, fast-paced world we live in and He is faithful. I don’t want to be one of the “would nots!” I want to continue to learn to keep my mind “stayed” on Him.
Prayer
Lord, please help me to continue to learn how to keep my mind, heart, and thoughts stayed on You, focused on You. Help me Lord to press into intimate times with You, not allowing anything to distract me from my First Love. Help me to choose to lay aside, turn off, be intentional about my time with You. Not just my morning “quiet” time, but throughout my day, dawn to dusk, start to finish, and even throughout the night that I would be attuned to You. Thank You that You are always with us 24/7 and I want to be “more” with You during my 24/7 as well. Thank You for loving us and loving to be with us. What an awesome God You are!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Study
“Move your heart closer and closer to God, and He will come even closer to you.” James 4:8 (TPT)
“Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NASB)
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; Therefore, I will wait for Him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him.” Lamentations 3:21-25 (NIV)
Worship: Canticle
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One of my brothers as a teenager, who worked on the bridge, fell off into three feet of water. He landed on his back, if he had gone in headfirst, it would have been fatal. He remembers seeing the ferry coming in, upside down as he fell. On climbing back up to the bridge deck, the superintendent from the ferry asked if anything had fallen off the bridge. My brother said, “yes, that was me.” He is still with us, though I think his days of working on bridges ended there.