Standing in Four States… and Being in Four States of Mind

September 1, 2026June 29, 2026 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Memorial installation with words fear, confusion, stress, and frustration on the ground — Image generated via AI.

You know the feeling of standing at the Four Corners Monument—one foot in Utah, one in Colorado, one hand in Arizona, the other in New Mexico. It’s a strange, almost playful moment where you realize you’re in four places at once, yet still just one person. Life does that to us, too.

Except instead of four states of land, we find ourselves standing in four states of mind—stress, confusion, fear, frustration—sometimes all at the same time. And unlike the monument, we didn’t drive there on purpose. We just woke up one day and realized, “I’m in too many places at once.” But God has something to say about that.

State of Stress — When Life Pulls You in Four Directions

Stress is the state where your mind is sprinting while your soul is limping behind. Scripture reminds us:

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7

At Four Corners, you can’t stay balanced if you try to stretch too far. Same with stress. God doesn’t ask you to hold everything. He asks you to hand everything to Him. Practical shift: Let one thing go today. Not everything, just one. That’s how you step back into one state at a time.

State of Confusion — When You Don’t Know Which Direction Is “Forward”

Confusion is standing at a crossroads with no signs, no map, and no cell service. But God promises clarity in His timing:

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” — 1 Corinthians 14:33

At Four Corners, every direction is technically “right.” But in life, God gives direction not by showing you the whole map, but by lighting the next step. Practical shift: Ask God for today’s direction, not tomorrow’s. He leads step by step, not leap by leap.

State of Frustration — When Nothing Seems to Move

Frustration is the emotional traffic jam of the soul. David felt it too:

“How long, Lord?” — Psalm 13:1

At Four Corners, you can stand in four states but still not be moving anywhere. Frustration feels like that: lots of pressure, no progress. Practical shift: Pause. Breathe. Remember that God is working even when you feel stuck. Progress is often happening underground before it appears above ground.

State of Overwhelm — When Everything Hits at Once

Overwhelm is when your heart feels like it’s standing in four storms at the same time. But God speaks into that storm:

“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” — Psalm 61:2

At Four Corners, you can’t stay stretched out forever. Eventually, you stand up straight again. Overwhelm is your soul telling you it’s time to stand up straight spiritually. Practical shift: Retreat to the Rock. Not your phone. Not your coping habits. Not your distractions. Just Him.

How to Step Out of Multiple States of Mind

Here’s your spiritual “Four Corners exit strategy”:

Center Yourself in Christ — He is the one place where all your scattered pieces come together.
Name Your State — You can’t leave a place you won’t admit you’re in.
Pray with Specificity — God responds to honest, targeted prayer.
Take One Step — Not ten. One.
Rest in His Promises — His Word is your compass.

Final Thought

Standing in four states at once is fun for a moment. Standing in four states of mind is exhausting. But God never intended for you to live stretched out like that. He calls you back to one place—His presence. One identity—His child. One direction—His will. One peace—His peace.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.” — Isaiah 26:3

Be a Truth Teller

September 20, 2022September 18, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

It amazes me how powerful the mind is. It can convince one to do unspeakable things, and they can actually believe their action is okay. For instance, have you ever heard someone on trial make a ridiculous statement like, “God told me to murder my mother.”? And the defendant believes that to be the truth.

What one calls “truth” may be anything but the truth. This is one example of how powerful the mind is. Someone can go and do something and even say, “I heard from God!” What they really heard was their own truth spoken to themselves because, whether they admit it or not, they are a god unto themselves. And they go so far as to reject the “real” truth when they hear it, even if they give the teller of that truth permission to speak into their life. And even if that speaker is a trusted friend, a fellow follower of Jesus Christ who only wants the best for them out of Godly love.

The above kind of behavior is dangerous. It is immaturity and or spiritual immaturity on their part. If it’s compounded by a “defense mechanism,” then when they hear the “truth,” they will quickly defend their behavior or actions and, in the most childish of ways, throw insults and low–blows back at you. If you are speaking to them via a phone, they might even get so upset they throw out a lame excuse, say, “Goodbye.” and hang up on you.

If you are the teller of “truth,” it is essential for you not to take it personally. It is also important to recognize when the conversation is not producing good fruit and to find a way to end it peacefully or change the subject. But you do not have to take, put up with, or endure their insults, yelling, and lies.

Knowing how powerful the mind is, the Apostle Paul urges us strongly to renew our minds. You certainly don’t want to act like those in the world who do not have the love of God in them. Seeking revenge or at work only doing your job and not being willing to help your coworker, or as Jesus called it, “Going the extra mile.” Nothing says “love of God,” like doing something for another when you don’t have to or are not required to.

Place Your Life Before God

12 ^1-2So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Rom. 12:1-2 (MSG)

If you think you may be believing “false truth,” then pray and ask God to help you renew your mind. Remember this; the truth will set you free! Even from strong defense mechanisms. Give the people or the situation to God and trust him to take care of it. Know that if you were indeed wronged, then God will make it right. So stop walking around wounded.

If you are a “truth” teller, then be encouraged. Keep sharing the ‘truth” with others if given the opportunity to or permission to. It can set them free! The other person may call you names or never speak to you again, but know that God will deal with them, and they will be held accountable because they heard the truth. Keep loving the person and praying for them.

Be Like God

May 4, 2021May 3, 2021 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Most of her life she heard, “You’re so stupid.” “You can’t do anything right.” “You’ll never amount to anything.” “Why can’t you get this? It’s not hard.” She heard messages that she wasn’t good enough and that she never would be. One negative message after another, and the worst thing happened…she believed them.

Thirty some years later, after thinking that life was just okay, and it couldn’t get any better, because she was taught not to expect anything special, it happened. She moved away from those she loved, and into the arms of man, who loved her, but more importantly, loved God. After a while he recognized her insecurities, but he knew how to reverse the years of damage and pain done to her.

He begin being gentle with his deeds, and especially with his words. He had to make sure he didn’t expect perfection out of every task, as he had been raised to. He needed to find the capacity to let her do things her way, and then to compliment her on a job well done. She needed to know he trusted her, and believed in her. He had to speak love to her and to speak life. He would hide notes and things around the house for her to find that reinforced what he was verbally telling her.

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. (Prov. 18:21 MSG)

Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim. (Prov. 15:4 MSG)

Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (Col. 4:6 MSG)

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Eph. 4:29 MSG)

Over time, because he will be like God to her (and not “a god” over her) she will heal. Her mind will be cleansed of all of those negative comments. Each day, she will grow in confidence. She will soon stand up straight and hold her head up high. She will begin to believe that she is a child of the most high God and that He loves her, and she will start acting like she knows it. She will seek out God’s plan and design for her life and purse it with strong conviction. One day she will be God, or be like God to someone else who is currently walking where she once did.

Grumpy Old Man?

February 23, 2021February 20, 2021 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

I believe I have expressed how much I dislike “injustice” before, but it seems like I am becoming more vocal when I see it. Either out loud, or under my breath. I don’t like how it makes me feel, and if I am not careful, I go on way too long about it. This is a pattern I’m not too fond of.

The other day, and I wish I could remember the source, I was involved in my devotional time and I came across the phrase, “a gentle and quiet spirit”. It keeps resonating in my head. Kind of like a “LSS” (Last Song Syndrome). You know, the last song in your head that you keep singing over and over. It seems I can’t get away from thinking about it, so I determined, this must be something God is calling me to.

Now, raising awareness of an injustice is needed and getting loud about it is important for it can draw attention to the situation and cause others to stop, look and decide to join you in your fight to alleviate it, but in everyday life, how you call out something that isn’t fair and or even mention it at all, is important. That’s where I have been failing in recent days.

Not using the right words, the correct volume or the Godly wisdom to get my point across.

So mush so, I could be labeled as a “Grumpy Old Man”! I don’t want to be known that way. When I hear that phrase, I think of the old man in the Disney movie, “Up”. And now that I think about it, there was a movie titled, “Grumpy Old Men”.

So I am now in the process of transforming my mind. Training it to “capture” every thought of negative, grumpy, stinking, old criticism and renewing it to handle what I see that bothers me in a “gentle and quiet” way. I may actually find that technique gets more people to hear what I am saying.

“Do not be shaped by this world. Instead be changed within by a new way of thinking.” Rom. 12:2 (ICB)

What If, “What If,” Never Happens?

August 10, 2019August 8, 2023 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

WHAT IF’S: It’s sad, but so many live in fear. What makes it worse is, they don’t think they do. They deny it. You talk about being deceived by the devil. They believe his lies instead of the Truth. They roll play, “Well what if…” this happens, or that happens? Do you want to know the truth? Many times, those “What if’s” never happen! They only steal your time thinking about them, and worrying about them. Even worse, living bound up by those fears hurts others, especially those who know the Truth, who know Jesus, who have themselves been set free. The battle is fear vs faith. Terror vs trust. Fear and terror may never happen, but faith and trust always do!

You can annihilate the “What if’s” with “God if’s”

GOD, IF’S: When something in life comes up, and you don’t know what is going to happen, or how things are going to turn out, instead of worry and fear, instead of “Well, what if?”, you can simply pray, “God, if you will take care of this for me.” Or, “God, if you will walk with me through this.”

Living like this will calm your mind, calm your spirit man down to where you can walk, and live in peace. How else would one walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil? This is how you can sit, and relax enough to eat, at a table, in the presence of your enemies. (Psalms 23)

The battle is in the mind. You must learn to rethink how you look at things and situations.

Look at things from God’s point of view!

Asking God will break the chains of fear, and will set you free. You will feel better because now, you will breathe like you have never drawn a breath before. You will skip down the sidewalk, because of the joy you now feel. Because of the Light in your life instead of darkness. Okay, perhaps you won’t actually skip, but you will want to.

“God, I thank you personally, that we have an alternative we can choose from. In you, and in your strength, we can flip the environment. Just knowing we don’t have to live in bondage is liberating in itself. I love you God, and I know you love me, and everyone, especially those who have read this battle plan to defeat the devil. You’re so awesome. Thanks!”

Me 2.0

November 7, 2018January 7, 2021 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

What does it take to change? To stop being whom everyone knows, and become who God knows? The only way I know to change, is the way God spoke of in Romans 12:2:

“Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” (AMP)

Renewing your mind, changes how you think. It begins to change how you see, talk to, treat, and hear people. It changes where you go, and what you do. When your mind has been transformed, people will know it, see it, hear it, and feel it. You will begin living as God originally intended. Others will be drawn to you. They may not know why, but they will be attracted to God through you. Their spirit will recognize the Spirit of God in you.

Here is the same verse from The Message

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (MSG)

I couldn’t have said it better.