Fighting the battle in our minds can be the toughest battle we face. Life throws plenty of things our way. What kind of things? Stressful things. Sinful things. Bad ideas. Evil. Opposition. How can we combat the travails of life?
Philippians 4:8-9 (ESV)
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
We are fundamentally at odds with the prevailing culture around us. Many images, ideas and voices assail us. These messages and the way we think about them deeply affect our lives. We will have a hard time avoiding the world and its messages, but we do have control over the messages we think about, live by, and communicate.
How can we combat the effects or wrong messages and wrong thinking? We must attack our thought life. The entire book of Philippians tells us to think the way Christ thinks. I would encourage you to read through the entire book looking for what Paul says about this. Specifically , in this passage, we see some of the things that we can use to fill our minds. These thoughts can replace negative thoughts and can point our feet in the direction needed for these virtues to become practice in addition to mindset.
So, pursue things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. Try to refocus your mind in times of peace and calm. This right thinking will be much more likely to flow over when things become difficult.
Today, make a list of one item from each of these “things”. Put the list on something you can take with you. During different times of the day, take the time to realign your thoughts to “these things.”
Let peace overtake your mind.