There are many many people, believers all, who come up to me and ask, ‘Nyakio, what about tomorrow? How do I stop worrying about kesho? I can’t even read the Bible or concentrate because my mind is crowded by worry.’ Many of them are believers, and yet, they still worry about their health, their finances, food, shelter, education…. the list is endless.
Question: Do you think about what you’re thinking about?
Well, upon observation of my fellow man (and woman) I have arrived at the sad conclusion that most of us walk around Brain Dead. Brain Dead, yes, repeatedly and mechanically feeding and giving in to the urges of our physical bodies without a single somber thought. Acting like zombies – if you are a MJ fan, you’ve seen the video THRILLER countless times where he passes the graveyard and turns into a zombie – a brain dead creature with its ‘mind’ on one thrill only – feeding its physical body. Whether it’s food from the latest Art Café, or high fashion that will cost you 500usd for a pair of slick shoes, maybe the latest shinde or SUV, or a house in Muthée or Runda or Lavi or some up-market gated community, children in expensive and posh-private schools where they graduate speaking like they have cotton wool stuffed in their noses and zero Sheng abilities, or vacations in SA or Dubai…. many of our minds are set on a frenzied endless RedBull-driven pursuit of physical fulfillment.
‘For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he’.
Proverbs 27:3
You are what you think. I am not a mind-reader and neither am I a magician but show me a man’s actions and I will tell you his thoughts. If your computer is Windows, it will use windows software. If your laptop is Apple, it cannot use Windows programmes, duh. You cannot download Apple iTunes into your DELL 2010 laptop! If your mind is programmed to P&M (Physical and Material) it will get just that.
In my search for Spiritual growth, for the Divine, I understood one crucial factor and that was that in order to get to a higher spiritual level than the one you are currently on you have to shift your consciousness consciously towards that of God. And unfortunately, there is no way that a zombie-brain-dead-mind will achieve that by itself. Look at alcoholics or drug-addicts. It is rare that they will ever let go of their habits before checking themselves in to a rehabilitation centre. Note: voluntarily checking yourself in. Not being dragged there by a concerned friend or relative.
But the question is, even if you do get help on how to manage your thoughts, how do you search for Jesus plus rid yourself of your zombie mind? How do you get to the place where you can sustain your physical life but still be filled with Peace, Joy, Understanding and most importantly, Love? A balance between the demands of our human physical needs and requirements and the search for a Spiritual life?
Good News, For (1) Walking with Jesus daily is not unobtainable and (2), neither do we have to give up all our physical comforts and turn into Monks or Nuns or go live on some high mountain peak and eat berries and locusts and take a vow of silence for the next 20 years. All it takes is a simple voluntary step into shifting your consciousness consciously towards that of Jesus Christ.
I love driving, it’s a hobby, and one of my pet-peeves is that when I am annoyed or mad, I jump into my car and drive off.. the faster the better, especially on dirt tracks - but of late that joy has been leached away because my current car is an automatic-gear-shift. Yuk. And I am not being ungrateful mind you!! oh no!! I appreciate the fact that I have a car, a vehicle, but… a gear shift is so much more fun, you know, clutching up while keeping one eye on the revs, one ear on the engine, and speed racing on Mombasa Highway – or clutching down and letting my feet dance between the brakes and the accelerator while drifting on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere…. OOOhhh!! But you CAN’T drift on an automatic... sigh. Sifting your consciousness consciously is like changing gears in your car. Manually.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you”.
John 15:7
Jesus promises that if we walk with him, he will walk with us. FACT.
Plus, if we ask Jesus to rid us of our empty frenetic search of material goods and our endless search for physical cravings, he will do so and not only that, Jesus will also fill our thoughts and minds with his Word. Know this; that Jesus’ Word is the same as the Word in Genesis, the same Word that created the world as we know it. The Word of God is a Life-force, an Energy, Vigorous and Fruitful. If we remain in his word, if we think, meditate and contemplate on his words, we shift our consciousness to a higher spiritual level where our thoughts are Life-giving, full of Energy, Vigorous and Fruitful i.e.– they multiply. Is that not simply awesome? Whenever I get into this state, I resonate with a peaceful, joyful energy that is visible to everyone around me. On those days, ideas pop into my mind effortlessly, I am creative, content and nothing goes wrong – my day is exactly as God intended it to be.. Ever had those God-moments or God-days?
Fine! You say, but I hear your thoughts grumble: I want to live in a nice house, I want to drive a nice car, I want my kids to go to nice schools and I want to go on holidays and wear good clothes, I want to take care of my parents who, apart from being old, have myriad health problems, or I have to worry about my younger brothers or sisters…. and if I spend all my time thinking about God and I don’t think about that or plan for next year, I am indeed a fool..
No probs; watch this..
Who of you by worrying, can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 7:27
Worrying – another word for distressing, disturbing, upsetting, tormenting, disquieting and nerve-racking. No wonder you have Hbp if those are your daily thoughts! Worrying about how get out of your problems as you perceive them. Tormenting your mind with thoughts of how to get the basics - food, shelter and clothing, for yourself or your loved ones. A cycle where you throw thoughts of God out and stuff your brain with nerve-racking, distressing, upsetting junk thoughts? What’s that line about junk-in junk-out in computer terminology? And still, at the end of the day, what on earth will all that worrying achieve? Zip. Zero. Zilch.
I tell you, do not worry about your life, or what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more important than food (pizza, nyam-choms, burgers) and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns (fridges) and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? WHO OF YOU BY WORRING CAN ADD A SINGLE HOUR TO HIS LIFE? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon (Kim Kardarshan) in all his splendour dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, Oh you of little kidogo faith?
Matthew 6:25-30
So shift gears in your brain, get your thoughts away from torment and into God. Consciously.
Oh the wonders of Our Lord! Here is another promise.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
vs 33
What is Jesus telling us? Simply this. Worrying and tormenting our minds about material things will achieve us nothing. But … looking for Jesus and Remaining in Him, dwelling, seeking, searching His Word, meditating on The Word of God which (I repeat) is a Life-force, an Energy, Vigorous and Fruitful; do this AND
… all these things will be given to you as well.
A life full of daily physical miracles and daily spiritual communion with God. Whatever your problem is, take it to Jesus Christ in prayer. Worry is not a soft-huggable toy, a teddy bear, so don’t hug it close or pass it onto your child. Now, what do you do during the day? Are you a teacher? Then teach well. Care for your students. Be patient with them.. are you are manager? Then manage your office well, an artist? Own your own small business? Do your work well. Eventually it pays off. All that seed you’re sowing will grow into fine trees and bear fruit. Be aware though, when your mind begins to torment your soul, your inner man (or woman) about the ‘what ifs’ of tomorrow - consciously shift your negative thoughts and think instead on God’s promises, delve into the Word of God, meditate on the Names of God, provide your soul with life-giving energy, contemplate on words of joy, peace and love. Remember that car with manual gears? Well, if you don’t listen to the engine and clutch down or up and change gears, you will either jerk and stutter the car to a halt, or blow the pistons.. and still stop. Don’t blow your mind up by Worrying.
Experiencing the miracle of the truly divine and extraordinary in your life can be, should be, a daily episode, where God’s truths are revealed to us as we search for them. Inspiration and light-bulbs popping off in your head daily. Remember the ‘ask, and you will receive’ promise? I believe it pertains to a higher level of spirituality (not a higher level of finances…). Jesus never said that reaching a spiritual awakening was a promise to a definite group of people, it is not dependant on your church membership, or to a particular tribe or sect. Instead, it is a personal relationship between your Spirit, your Soul and the Spirit of God.
Impossible? No. Because what is impossible for man is possible for God, and the closer our relationship to our God, the smaller the gap between you and him, then the easier it is to experience the mind of God. Have you ever loved someone so much, been so close to them that you get to know what they are thinking before they speak it? Know their needs before they request them? It is possible to be so close to God that you know what He desires of you, directly.
Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.
Genesis 1:27
Incase you thought differently, let me assure you and I are not here on earth to endlessly worry, suffer or crave for material goods to gratify the physical. Our bodies will grow old and die in any case… When we were created, Worry was NOT a part of our software - worry is a virus that we need to delete immediately, pronto, quick quick. What the Spirit of God desires is communion with your soul, your spirit - which is why he made you just like him because honestly, animals are pets, not Life-partners. Who gets married to their pet? To have and to hold…. etc? aiyee! Change from being Brain Dead and a Worry Wort to renewing your mind and growing into a deeper relationship with God is a small miracle in itself, but, it is a part of the scheme of things, a natural purpose of nature and what God really wants from you.
I like caterpillars. Nowadays. I didn’t when I was a child because there were some ikki ones on a tree that I loved to climb, but when the caterpillars were on that tree, I couldn’t climb it – ‘hairy caterpillars’ are known to cause serious itching when they come into contact with your skin. So, I’d squish them. Until a neighbour kid screamed at me one day and yelled ‘you’re killing butterfly babies’. I looked at the kid in disbelief. ‘This ugly hairy thing a butterfly? You cheat!’ Yet in my disbelief I asked my playmate to show me how this ‘magic’ worked and I got one of my first nature lessons - patience. And with it came the miraculous. Watching daily as the caterpillars ate almost all the leaves off the bottom branches of the tree, wound themselves up in cocoons, then witnessing them emerge as beautiful butterflies. No longer ugly pathetic grubs crawling in the mud and on trees, but beautiful winged insects flitting from flower to flower.
Our minds without Jesus are base, stuck in the mud and earth-bound like caterpillars.. food for birds and squishable by young children. Yet with Jesus we can achieve the truly miraculous and commune daily with him, drawing nearer and nearer to God where your thoughts can be renewed, can be cleansed, and you can receive daily inspiration directly from God. Inspiration and countless ideas on what you should do today, who you should talk to, and how to talk to them, so that you don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
Listen to your mind…
…. and think about what you’re thinking about.
