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"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.'"
(Philippians 4:8, NLT)
Don't think about a pink elephant.
Don't think about a pink elephant.
Don't think about a pink elephant.
Most of you probably thought of a pink elephant just now. For those who thought of a blue elephant instead, well done! I remember doing these exercises when I was younger and getting frustrated that my teacher could so easily get in my head and make me think about a silly pink elephant! Sadly, I was not clever enough to change the color of the elephant or to change the animal altogether.
What I want to talk about today and the rest of the week is not pink elephants, but our thought life. What thoughts permeate your mind? What thoughts infiltrate and take over your mind? Where does your mind often wander? What do you think about when you are happy, or when you are sad?
Thoughts are very powerful to our outlook on life, and recently, the Lord has really convicted me about what I am placing my thoughts on. In the midst of this, I rediscovered Philippians 4:8. This verse is the last message that Paul gives to the Church at Philippi in his letter to them. He wants to leave them with the challenge of controlling their thoughts. Paul tells them to focus and fix their thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. I believe that Christians in 2020 need to implement this thought process now more than ever!
For me, when I think of this verse and try to find something to put my thoughts on that encompass all the admirable traits that Paul describes, my mind goes to Jesus. I think of how Jesus loved people, how He interacted with His disciples, how He loved us so much that He died on the cross for our sins, how He triumphed over sin and death, how He has secured an eternal place for me, how He has promised to be our Great High Priest, how He promised to never leave us... and the list goes on!
My challenge for you starting today is simple: think about Jesus. When we think about and dwell on the Author and Perfecter of our faith, we will find that our thoughts and our minds will be filled with joy. It doesn't mean that every day will be swell and dandy, but our thoughts and reactions to different scenarios will be filtered through the lens of the One who is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise: Jesus Christ.
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