Read
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Reflect
As a teacher, I see it almost every day. There is a growing cultural divide between today’s teenagers and the generations that came before them, and much of it has to do with the way each generation has experienced information and media.
My grandparents grew up in a world where the news was primarily in print, and they were young adults as radio became common. My parents grew up with radio as the standard and were young adults as television became a fixture in American homes. My generation grew up with television, but there were only a handful of channels. Cable arrived during my teens, and the Internet was still in its infancy until I was in my 30s.
My daughter’s generation has never known a world without hundreds of television channels, cell phones or easy access to the Internet, even if those early phones were flip phones. Today’s teenagers have never known a world without smartphones, streaming media and constant Internet access. For many of them, cable television is already an outdated concept.
The change is staggering when you stop to consider how many messages compete for our attention. Some estimates suggest that we may encounter thousands of advertising messages in a single day, perhaps as many as 6,000 to 10,000.
And it isn’t just advertising.
Between television, radio, billboards, email, text messages, social media, streaming services and the endless notifications coming from our phones, we live in a state of almost constant stimulation. Our eyes, ears and minds are continually being asked to process something new.
It can become exhausting.
So what’s the answer? Isaiah gives us one.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
The peace Isaiah describes does not come simply because we have found a quiet room or turned off our phones. We can sit in complete silence and still have our minds racing in a dozen directions. The promise is connected to where our minds are fixed.
God’s peace is not merely the absence of noise. It is the presence of an anchor.
When our attention remains fixed on Him, we are reminded that the loudest voice in the room does not have to control us. The newest message does not have to manipulate us. The latest crisis does not have to consume us. The world around us may be chaotic, but God remains steady.
That does not mean there is anything wrong with stepping away from the noise. In fact, most of us probably need to do that more often. Put down the phone. Turn off the television. Step away from the constant stream of information and give yourself a little time to “chill out.”
But don’t stop with silence. Use that quiet to draw near to the Lord.
Fix your attention on the One who remains unchanged when everything else is clamoring for your attention. Trust Him with the things that are overwhelming you. Allow your mind to rest in the truth of who He is.
The world may not become any quieter. But in Him, your soul can.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
