Joyful Living Devotional - Day 37
Day 37 - This Is How You Do It! – Part 2
Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT) 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Paul gave the Philippians four principles to live by so their lives could be filled with harmony, love, and God’s peace. These include joy and rejoicing, consideration with accountability, praying instead of worrying, and living in constant gratitude. He now adds a final point. He wants them to fix their thoughts on the right things, or, put another way, to think about what they are thinking about. But not only that, he gives them the recipe or the menu for a healthy thought life. Many of us take our thought life for granted; we pay little attention to what we are thinking about. Paul wants to make sure the Philippians think right so they can put into practice what they have learned. Their thought life will be reflected in their daily practices.
Where is your mind at? What are you fixated on? What are you constantly thinking about? Have you ever thought about what you are thinking about? Why are thoughts so important? Because thoughts are not harmless. We are shaped by thoughts, whether someone else’s or our own. As the saying goes: “Wherever the mind goes, the man follows.”
Thoughts occupy mental real estate. They shape our behavior and control our emotions. If you don’t believe that, you are at best naive or at worst deceived. The predominant thoughts in my mind will become the belief system in my heart, which will be the operating system of my life. What I constantly think about in my head will shape what I filter (meditate on) in my heart and will determine the habits in my life! I love how the Message Bible says in Matthew 5:8: “You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
My thoughts will stir my desires and emotions, and I will decide to follow them. If we focus only on the negative in our lives, we become negative people. Everything, including our conversations, becomes negative. I challenge you to think about what you’re thinking about! You might feel discouraged and even depressed, wondering what caused it. Yet if you examine your thought life, you’ll find you’re feeding the negative emotions you’re feeling. Negative thoughts fuel discouragement, depression, and many other unpleasant emotions.
Why do you do what you always do? It is because you think the way you always think… A new life can only be shaped by a renewed mind; a renewed mind only comes about by new thoughts. That’s why we are encouraged to renew our minds in Romans 12:2a (NIV): “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Someone once quoted: “As you wander on through life, brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.”
Too many people focus on what’s not there and what’s not right. That means that our thoughts largely determine our destiny. Our thoughts also determine our happiness. What’s the conclusion then? We can’t have a positive life and a negative mind. A negative mind filled with negative thoughts produces negative emotions. Negative emotions produce negative words, and negative words produce poor choices, which produce unhealthy habits! There is a better way to live than one filled with negative emotions, feelings, and responses. Instead, we can fix our minds on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. God’s way is always better for you. Being full of grace and faith sure beats being filled with anxiety and worry!
Philippians 4:8 (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Paul gives us the menu for a healthy thought life: Truth is the very foundation on which we build our lives. Truth is God’s domain; the lie is enemy territory. Adam’s downfall was that he suppressed God’s truth and believed the devil’s lie. We must discern what is true, hold fast to it, and think about it. In John 17, Jesus prays for the disciples: “‘16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth’” (John 17:16-17 NLT). We must recognize that God's Word is truth and fill our minds with it, for it is the only way to overcome the enemy's lies.
We set our minds on the truth of God’s Word and on what is honorable. In our culture, honor has left the building. We might know the definition of honor, but few live it out. We strive to be venerable, serious about our commitments, and people of our word. Paul says to fix our thoughts on what is honorable, what is integrous, and what is right or just. Our thoughts are focused on living right before the Lord and before others. We are not consumed by what others might do; we are first and foremost focused on what is right for us to do, just before the Lord and right before others. Our thoughts are also pure, free of contamination. There are so many spiritual pollutants around us that pollute our hearts and minds that we sometimes don’t even realize how impure our thoughts are.
We accept, listen to, and watch things we think are harmless, but they are actively reshaping our minds to conform to the culture and way of thinking of the world. Deception is not overt; it is subtle. It would not be called deception if it weren’t deceiving us. Some things are in complete opposition to a Christ-like way of thinking, yet we become comfortable with them. Because just like the frog in the pot, the heat is slowly being turned up, and before you know it, we are so comfortable with impure thoughts and unholy practices that we don’t even realize we are being boiled alive!
Our thoughts must also be set on what is lovely. Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about somebody else’s calamity and getting a wry sense of pleasure from it? (Be honest.) This is just the opposite. Paul wants the Philippians and us to have a winsome mindset, thinking lovely thoughts. Not ones of criticism, judgment, and condemnation, but thoughts that stir up God’s love. The more we think about things that are lovely, the greater our capacity for grace, sympathy, compassion, kindness, and patience will be, and that will inspire love. That leads to thoughts of admiration or good report, thoughts that are predictors of a good future, thoughts acceptable in God’s hearing. It is so obvious that Paul does not want the Philippians to be stuck in a cesspool of ugly and unholy thinking.
He brings in two more qualities to ponder. Think of anything excellent or praiseworthy. This excellence can take many forms. It can be the excellence of a field producing a great crop, an animal with physical excellence, or a tool used well. It can also be the excellence of a person doing something great. I have always admired people with skills I don’t possess, such as building something, being artistic and creative, or even simply building a straight wall. Seeing it in others is excellent and praiseworthy. We give honor where honor is due. We think of ways to honor others rather than criticize them. When our thoughts are fixed on this way of thinking, it absolutely changes everything!
Right after Paul tells us to fix our minds on all these things, he tells us to put into practice what we have learned. If that does not show us that our thoughts affect our actions, nothing will. I love how He finishes verse 9: “Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9b NLT). When we think right, we will do right, and the God of peace will be right by our side! Not only will we have peace, but we will have the presence of the God of peace!
How can we fix our thinking? First, we must challenge our thinking. Ask the question: Why am I thinking this way? Second, we must change our thinking. Ask: What am I allowing into my thought life? Third, we must consecrate our thinking. Ask: How much of God’s Word do I think about?
This is not a matter of mind over matter; it is saying that my mind and what it lingers on matter. A changed life is only possible with a renewed mind. Will you make a decision today to renew your mind and fill it with what is good and honorable, so that your life may reflect it?
Let’s get busy thinking new, renewed thoughts centered on the Word of God. The possibilities are endless...
Prayer:
- Pray and ask the Lord to give you the discipline to build a consistent, healthy pattern of thinking in your life.
- Ask the Lord to give you a discerning mind so that you may be able to identify, displace, and expel wrong, unhealthy, negative, and toxic thoughts.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a sound, well-balanced, fearless, and loving mind.
- Pray Psalm 19:7-14 (TLB) (Adapted)
Posted in Joyful Living Devotional