Slow Your Rolling Boil

Slow Your Rolling Boil

By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter
 

Does your mind ever feel like a pot of water, set on a red-hot stovetop? Thoughts, concerns, plans, worries, and what-ifs bubble to the surface. First, they come one at a time, and then they keep coming faster until a full rolling boil has been reached.  
 
If left unattended, those thought bubbles start to froth up a little. Continue to ignore them and this roiling pot threatens to boil over; spilling, scalding, and sizzling. 
 
I’m not sure about you, but in this season of life, my stove top burners feel like they’ve been turned up a bit. That’s not a bad thing, it just means that life is full and there are plenty of things going on for my mind to want to simmer in. 
 
There have been nights, tucked into my cozy bed with my blankets pulled all the way up to my chin, where one of those thoughts shimmied to the surface. Another thought followed and another and another as sleep slipped further and further away. 
 
Have you been there?
 
So, what do we do when our mind feels this busy and unsettled?   We keep watch over the pot. We don’t leave it unattended. Like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
 
We recognize that the burner is hot. We know there is water in the water in the pot. We notice what’s happening in our hearts, our bodies, and especially our minds. And if things start to bubble up, we see it because we’re paying attention.
 
“Hey, thought!” We might say. “I see you.  I notice that you’re there. And before things get too heated, I’m taking you to Jesus.” 

We are finite humans but God is infinite. We are beings of limited capacity but we have a God of limitless capability. Instead of trying to manage on our own, we submit everything (our bubbling thoughts included) to the one who is truly in control. 
 
When thoughts, concerns, plans, worries, and what-ifs rise to the surface, we turn to God and acknowledge that he is over it all. Like a wooden spoon set across the top of the pot, his presence says to the increasing simmer, “Go no further.”
 
We tell him what’s going on. We honestly share where we are. We bring our whole selves vulnerably to him.
 
We ask for his help. We ask for his wisdom. We ask for his guidance because we know that he is working all things together for our greater good and his greater glory.
 
Then we trust. 
 
Isaiah 26:3 NIV promises “You (God) will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
 
First, we notice our thoughts. Next, we take them captive and take them to Jesus. Then, we trust and focus on God’s provision, power, protection, and presence. 
 
We remember he’s in control. We remember he is good. We remember who he is and what he’s already done. 
 
And those bubbles transform. The simmer slows. Thoughts, concerns, plans, worries, and what-ifs become meditations about our good God. 
 

Practice:

Take a minute, before the thoughts get to bubbling too much. Notice what you're feeling. Notice where you might be feeling those feelings in your body. Practice bringing them to Jesus.

Scripture Meditation:

Isaiah 26:3 NIV
 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Journal Reflection:

How do you normally handle it when your thoughts start to bubble and threaten to boil over? Has that been helpful? How is this practice different?