Claiming God’s Promises With Our Thoughts: What Are You Tending?
Home is such a personal thing. It will always mean something different to each individual. The process will never look the same from one household to another. And success or failure are on an ever evolving sliding scale depending on who you talk to.
However, one thing is the same. We all crave a home that gives us peace, a sense of belonging, and safety.
So what do you do when you don’t feel settled in your own home?
I was discussing with Aaron that this is the first home I’ve ever struggled to settle into. I’ve moved dozens of times. And not until this house, have I struggled to feel at home in my space.
It isn’t for lack of trying, that is for sure.
Whole Home Renovations
I’ve spent a full year and a half of designing, renovating and transforming this home into something that can serve our family better.
I’ve been intentional in how I designed every space. My kids’ bedrooms were tailored to their preferences. Our bedroom was updated to be a calming retreat.
The main level saw a complete gut, transforming the 1970s kitchen, dining room, mudroom, and bathroom.
The basement was fully remodeled as well, though it still needs quite a few tweaks to make it a fully functional space.
And of course, we completed a living room addition with large deck and plenty of outdoor updates.
After a year and a half of completely transforming our home, you would think I would feel like we’ve made it our own.
What Creates a HOme?
But God has taught me so much through the remodel about what home is.
You see, it hasn’t been what I’ve done to this house that creates a home. It’s about what occurs within its walls.
For a year and a half we were unable to host gatherings, celebrate with a birthday party, hold a family Christmas with extended family, or in general, have much fun at all. We were relegated to the couple of rooms that weren’t covered in drywall dust and actually had electricity.
We were distracted by dozens of “house decisions” that need to be made on the fly. We were consumed by surviving the rhythms of daily life without a kitchen or a place to sit and rest at the end of the day.
And none of this is complaint. We did, after all, want this. It is just the reality of living through a move and a renovation.
It was the things we missed out on that create memories and a bond with a home. Thinking back to past homes, this is what I dwell on.
The time Owen took his first steps and a whole new world opened to him. The time Addie caught a frog in our pond and she lit up the world with her smile.
The effort Aaron put in to creating outdoor spaces for our friends and family to enjoy.
Seeing my grandfather visit for the first, and last, time. Observing his slow smile as he watched the great-grandkids from his wheelchair in the window.
And so much more.
The house plays a huge role in a home. It provides structure and beauty. It gives shelter and security.
But it is the people that actually create it.
What Are You Tending
So as I’ve been dwelling on the why and how of my lack of attachment to this home, God reminded me that we are all caretakers. With every thought and action, we are tending something.
A nurse tends the wounds of her patient.
A teacher tends a young boy’s mind.
A gardener tends the soil.
A parent tends the growth of his child.
A homemaker tends her home.
And God tends our souls.
But something we are all responsible for, regardless of talent, passion or desire, is to tend our own hearts and minds.
To tend our thoughts towards something. To tend the condition of our mind.
You Were Never Meant to Tend a Grave
It is very easy to tend our thoughts towards fear, disappointment and destruction. Satan thrives on controversy, shock and awe, and fear mongering.
He loves to see us struggle. And he attacks us most frequently in our thoughts. This is why the Bible tells us to take every thought captive.
“I’m never going to be able to _____”
“This will never change.”
“What if _______ happens.”
“I have to protect ______ at all costs.”
“I’ll never be able to rebuild ______.”
Turning these thoughts over and over in our minds is like turning garbage into soil we intend for a garden. It is harmful, unhealthy, and will thwart all our efforts towards growth and life.
This pattern of thought is quite frankly, tending a grave.
So if we are tending our thoughts towards destruction, how is there room to tend them towards God’s goodness?
MY FRIEND, WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO TEND A GRAVE.
We are called to freedom (Galatians 5). Freedom from so much, but specifically for our minds, freedom from:
- Strife
- Enmity
- Jealousy
- Anger
- Rivalries
- Division
- Envy
Instead, we are called to victory in the Spirit. To live lives of:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
Our thoughts tend our souls. And fear, anxiety, disappointment, discontentment….these all tend a grave for our souls.
As believers in Christ, we aren’t called to the grave. We are called to life, and life abundant.
When we set our focus on the negatives, our eyes are taken off of the Lord’s promises. Instead, we have to make the conscious effort to keep our focus on the knowledge and goodness of God.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Claiming God’s Promises
Satan is continuously at war for our thoughts. Thankfully, God has given us the armor (Ephesians 6) and strength we need to fight that battle.
So, instead of tending your thoughts towards the grave, tend these promises. This list is barely a fraction of the promises held in the Bible.
But take your time to really dwell on what each one truly means for you.
- “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Isaiah 41:17-18
- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13
- “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
- “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-29
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wickedness.” 1 John 1:9
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
- “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you.” Psalm 31:19
- God’s love endures forever. Psalm 136
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:12-13, 21-23, 26, 28-31
Guard Your Heart
So what does this have to do with feeling at home?
Nothing.
And everything.
It just happens to be the small trial I’m personally working through where it’s clear I need to tend my thoughts towards God’s promises over the challenges directly in front of me.
It’s my heart and mind posture towards my current circumstances.
It’s where my focus lies: on God’s goodness or on my perceived lack.
And that’s the long and short of it for any life circumstance.
Job loss. Wayward children. Lack of finances. Lost friendships. Loneliness. Lack of community.
The Bible tells us to guard our hearts for a reason. Satan loves to poke and prod at them. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome Satan’s efforts.
While my current focus may be on how to feel more at home in this house, yours will be something totally different.
What are you tending right now?
Are you tending your grave in this circumstance? Or are you tending life and life abundant?
How can you move forward with a renewed mind towards God’s goodness and what your circumstance is teaching you? How will you tend your heart and mind to focus on the Lord’s promises as He works in your heartache, your victories, and everything in between?
~Sarah
Thank you for this, Sarah. Thank you for having a thinking heart towards God and sharing that with us. We avid homemakers and DIYers can get lost in the process. Thank you for bringing our thoughts back to the why. All for the glory of God, all to benefit our family and draw others up to Christ. Keeping eternal values in view. That’s why! And we’re gonna have fun doing it!
Now you can fill your new old home with the flood of memories you crave starting with your preps for Resurrection Sunday via your sweet video! Fill your house, Sarah!
Im praying for your son, Eva. Trials are hard. But I have found that if I let them drive me closer to God, the Lord enfolds and overwhelms me with Himself, His grace, His strength. Draw close to Him, Eva. Let Him love on you. Find Him in the Psalms especially. I’m praying for you, too.
Sarah, this is honestly the best post I have ever read. It put so much into perspective for me. I’ve never thought of the negative things that I often think and feel about one thing or another equate to ‘tending a grave’. You’ve given me so much to think about. And I applaud you for sharing and being vulnerable. We live in a such a ‘I’m perfect, my house is perfect, my kids are perfect, my life is perfect’ world via social media that it’s hard not to think that if/when we struggle that we’re totally alone and broken. Because if everyone else has it figured out, why can’t I? Thank you so much for sharing this post and I will back to re-read it many times! 🙂
Sarah, you are a blessing to so many people. I will be reading this particular post over and over again…and sharing it with the ladies in my Connection Group next Sunday. I pray God continues to bless you as you are able to welcome your friends and family into your new home, making many more beautiful memories.
I really needed to here this today, I am struggling with some hurt and anger towards my son’s wife at the moment, mostly for what she is putting him through and the hurt she did to me, which I won’t go into. I have been able to forgive before but this is really hard for me this time. I know I will get there eventually, and it will be good for my soul. I know it is only hurting me and not her.
Thank you so much Sarah ! I really needed this reminder and teaching about what we are to be tending! There’s a song called Made For More by Josh Baldwin . It contains the line “I wasn’t meant to be tending a grave…I was made for more!” It’s beautiful
This was beautiful, and appreciated. You are so right.
Sarah, I appreciate this very much. It’s easy (from this side) to look at all the fun and all the newness that is portrayed by any YT channel. I’m sorry you’re not feeling at home or feeling unsettled but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us. I can use these words of encouragement in a situation or two in my life, for sure. Thank you.
My only son recently diagnosed with aggressive cancer. I’m having a really hard time with faith right now, normally I’m a believer and I’m trying so hard to pray and stay positive but finding it impossible.
I’m sorry, Eva. I’ll pray for you and your son. That may be hard for you to hear right now- I get that.
Sarah,
God just spoke to me through you. Thank you so much for sharing🩷
I will be sharing your thoughts with others. You are such a blessing and inspiration!
Thank you, Sarah. I will read this again and again. GOD Bless you and your family. Enjoy your home!
What a powerful post/blog!! It deserves a second read through just to soak it all in. Thank you for sharing! Praying you continue to feel more at “home” in your home.