Clearheaded
“But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8
I read this verse this morning & thought what does it means to be “clearheaded”? This word seems very attractive to me right now in my current state. One definition is “able to think clearly & stay calm”. How often can I say that I am clearheaded? Wouldn’t it be nice to be clearheaded all the time or most of the time? Often, I feel like I am in a fog or trying to filter through lots of stuff so that I can think clearly & try to stay calm.
Recently there have been lots of distractions in my life (I believe in the world as well!) that have made it difficult to be clearheaded. What is this verse saying that we should do? It speaks of God’s armor to protect us. In Ephesians 6:14-17 the scripture tells us that we should put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.
When I have days that I think about God’s armor & put it on, my days are different & I feel protected. I can visualize the armor on me through my day. Maybe when we are getting dressed in the morning we can also put on our spiritual armor as part of our routines.
What other ideas do you have that will make you more clearheaded? The verse also speaks of living in the light. It is funny when I have a messy room that I don’t want to deal with, I turn off the light & shut the door so that no one can see the mess (as if that works- LOL!). Are we also doing this in our spiritual life? If we are in the darkness, then we can’t see things that we don’t want to deal with (or we shut a door that God wants us to open). Is there a reason why new homes have lots of natural light now? Natural light makes everything seem so new, fresh, & clean. That is how I want my spiritual life to look as well.
I have heard pastors say when things get dark for you, do what you do in the light to get out of the dark. If we are living in the light, then we can be more clearheaded because we can see more. Only seeing pieces at a time often doesn’t make us clearheaded. We need multiple pieces to put together to see the picture.
God, I believe all of us would benefit from being clearheaded right now. Let us use Your word to get answers. In our morning routines help us put on Your armor. Help us live in Your light so we can see what You want us to see. Show us through Your word more ideas to help us to be clearheaded so that we can live our lives the way You want us to live. Thank you for Your word which is always so enlightening, new, fresh & clear. Amen.
P.S. Since we are speaking of light, I have this fortune cookie paper on my computer screen that reads “Live light, travel light, spread the light, be the light.” I love reading this. It encourages me in so many ways.