Centered or Scattered?

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee.”
-Isaiah 26:3

What would it be like going through my whole day being centered? How can I navigate all the ups and downs and the distractions of life while keeping an inner focus on the Lord?

Inner-Most Center
The Quakers (Friends) offer us a wonderful concept of being “centered.” To be centered is to maintain an inner anchor even when the winds are howling about us. It means remaining connected to the Lord at one level even when our conscious thoughts are busy at school or work. It entails the inner-most part of our lives resting secure in an unseen reality that transcends the time-space world around us with all its contingencies and change.

Remaining centered is more easily said than done. How often we muddle through the day, being anything but centered. Instead, our minds are scattered, racing from one responsibility to another. Our activities are scrambled as we attempt to multitask in our effort to save time. Our focus is disjointed as we try to keep up with all the demands and phone calls, people and responsibilities, in our lives. So many things can throw us off center!

Regrouping
Throughout the day when we realize we have been knocked off center, it is important not to become frustrated because that makes us even more internally fragmented. Rather than becoming flustered, we simply need to reorient ourselves toward that quiet place within where God is in charge. The Good Shepherd is ready throughout the day to lead us to inner green pastures and still waters that restore our fraying souls.

In practice we need to regroup internally periodically through the day. Mentally standing back from all the pressures and frustrations, we tune our mind afresh to God’s presence inside of us and God’s sovereignty over the situations surrounding us. We center ourselves again on God’s grace. Even as we need to concentrate on the work at hand, we focus the inner eye of our souls on the safe place where the Almighty offers us genuine peace. Indeed, God will “keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed” on the Lord!

© 2014 Glenn E. Myers