Psalm 23:2-3

Devotional Thoughts

By Carter Conlon

In this hour, when a myriad of voices and false prophets are emerging, we must recognize how imperative it is to have a sound mind, clearly discerning God’s voice and allowing ourselves to be directed by truth. If you choose to turn to God with all your heart, he will begin revealing his Word and his voice to you. “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

God will give you a sound mind if that is your desire. He will take you into the Scriptures and you will be established in the ways of God, able to discern truth. Soon you will get to the point where you are no longer fighting in your mind, no longer governed by your own natural thinking. This means you will not be moved by what other people are saying or by what you see in the news. You will not be overcome with fear at every evil report you hear, for you will know what is right and what the Bible says.

You will remember what God has spoken to you, and as you walk in what he says, you will live to see it fulfilled. All hell can send its deepest, darkest enemies against you, but you will have the confidence that one line of truth can send the whole crew to flight. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Or when fears about provision for the future arise, suddenly you will remember David’s words: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

The major difference between people with a sound mind and those without will be evidenced by God’s leading in their lives. David wrote, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2). Those with a sound mind will be led by the tender voice of their Savior, and they will be given promises of reassurance no matter what they face in the coming days.

Power, love and a sound mind — that is what comes from God, and it comes only from God. Trust Him for the power to be all that he has called you to be. Determine in your heart to find his will and God will do his part to fill you with the Holy Spirit who will overpower any spirit of fear.

^{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}