Let me just say it like we would sitting across from each other…
We are taking in a lot every single day.
And I don’t think we always realize how much it’s actually affecting us.
I was reading something from Dr. Caroline Leaf and it hit me in such a real way—
she talked about how our brains weren’t designed to process constant bad news… one crisis after another… before we’ve even had our coffee.
And I thought… that explains a lot.
Because haven’t you felt it?
You open your phone for just a second…
and suddenly your shoulders are tight, your thoughts are racing, and you don’t even know why.
Nothing actually happened to you…
but your body is reacting like it did.
Your Brain Is Listening… But So Is Your Spirit
Here’s what stood out to me from what she shared:
Your brain doesn’t just see information…
it absorbs it and learns from it.
So when we constantly take in fear, chaos, negativity…
we’re not just “staying informed.”
We’re quietly training our minds to expect the worst.
And here’s where this matters for us as believers—
Because God already told us this long before science ever caught up.
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT):
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Not some of your life.
The course of it.
Let’s Talk Real for a Second
We live in a world where negativity spreads fast.
Social media… news… conversations…
it almost feels normal now.
Like this underlying agreement that
“this is just how life is.”
But can I gently say this?
That might be the world’s normal…
but it’s not Kingdom normal.
Because God never called us to live in a constant state of anxiety, fear, and mental overload. And if I’m being honest here, He never called us to live having to know every finite detail of what is happening all around us.
What You Let In… Doesn’t Stay Neutral
Jesus said in:
Luke 6:45:
“What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
So if what’s going in is constant fear, doubt, uncertainty, negativity…
guess what eventually comes out?
Your thoughts start sounding like it.
Your words start agreeing with it.
Your outlook starts being shaped by it.
And before you know it,
you’re carrying something God never asked you to carry.
Holy Habit Shift: Be Intentional About Your Intake
This isn’t about ignoring what’s happening in this world.
It’s about not letting the world set the tone of your mind.
Paul said it like this:
2 Corinthians 10:5:
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
That means we don’t just let anything run wild in our minds.
We check it.
We filter it.
We choose what gets to stay. That’s a big one!
The Reset
Let’s talk about where this really starts…
the moment you reach for your phone.
What do you go to first?
News?
Social media?
Because whatever you open first… it’s not just information.
It’s setting the tone for your entire day—whether you realize it or not.
It’s laying a foundation in your mind.
It’s shaping your thoughts.
It’s even affecting your body… your nervous system… how you carry yourself.
And I didn’t always realize how much this mattered until I started paying attention.
I remember a season where I noticed something in myself that honestly caught me off guard…
I’d open social media for what I thought was “down time”…
but my body didn’t feel relaxed at all.
My shoulders were tight.
My breathing felt shallow.
I was tense… almost like I was bracing for something.
And I thought—
wait a second… this isn’t rest.
This is my body reacting.
So I made a decision that felt small at the time, but it ended up shifting more than I expected…
I removed social media off my phone.
Not forever.
Just long enough to reset.
To give my heart and mind a break from the constant noise.
And do you know what I replaced it with?
I started opening my Bible app instead.
Just reading scripture.
Reading through countless devotionals and reading books.
And little by little… something started changing.
My thoughts felt clearer.
My spirit felt lighter.
There was peace where there used to be tension.
And it reminded me of something so simple… but so easy to forget—
All that outside noise… those constant “clanging cymbals” we let into our lives…
can slowly start to crowd out the freedom God actually wants us to walk in.
And if I’m being really honest…
There was another layer to this for me.
When I’d scroll social media and see everyone else’s
“look what I’m doing” moments…
it started messing with me more than I wanted to admit.
I’d walk away feeling like—
Am I even doing anything right?
Am I behind?
Did I miss something somewhere?
And that’s the crazy part…
Because who am I to be comparing my journey to someone else’s?
But that’s how subtle it is.
One post.
One scroll.
One quick comparison.
And suddenly you’re questioning things you were once confident in that you knew God has give you to do.
You start feeling like you’re not enough…
like you’ve somehow missed it…
like everyone else is “getting there” and you’re just… not.
And that right there?
That’s how the enemy works sometimes.
Just subtle enough to plant a thought…
and if we’re not careful, we start agreeing with it.
So this isn’t about guilt.
It’s not about “don’t do this” or “you shouldn’t do that.”
This is about being intentional.
Because it really is a holy habit to protect what comes in.
Just because something is normal in the world…
doesn’t mean it’s the way for someone who’s pursuing closeness with Jesus.
If we’re living that “oil in the lamp” kind of life—
then what we’re filling ourselves with matters.
Daily.
Quietly.
Consistently.
Let me leave you with this this week…
How are you starting your day?
And what are you prioritizing that’s coming into your heart and mind on a daily basis?
Because that… right there…
is what’s building the foundation you’re standing on.