It is said that the most highlighted verse on the Kindle version of the Bible is Philippians 4:6-7. And probably right now, it’s become a life motto of many.
“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Don’t you just love that? God promises to give us peace if we give Him our requests – with thanksgiving. And His peace will literally set up a military detachment around our heart and mind. That’s good stuff. That’s a promise to cling to.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on in v. 8 to say:
“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things.”
Instead of worrying, Paul says we should fix our minds on that whole list of attributes. I did a “deep dive” into each of those words, and really, they mean in the Greek what they mean in English. Different translations just use different words to mean the same thing.
But as I looked at those words, I thought about where my own mind had been since our quarantine began. Honestly, I’ve been all over the place. I’ve been up, I’ve been down, I’ve been somewhere in between depending on the day. I’ve been happy, sad, hopeful, discouraged, mad, and glad all in the space of just a few minutes. And that’s ok. We’re living in weird days. But this is where my mind should have been – on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy. These things are food and fruit for the mind that is guarded by the peace of God.[1] When we put them in, they come out of us. When we put the opposite of these things in, the opposite comes out, and it usually comes out on those around us – our families, friends, and social media accounts.
So what do we need to do? We need to social distance our minds from the things that take it away from these fruit. If the thoughts we’re thinking aren’t true, honorable, just, and the like, they need to go. We need to take them captive and make them obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
What are some examples of those kinds of thoughts?
Negative thoughts
Negative people
News stories that are hyped up and not from reputable sources
Impure things – things that aren’t holy
Lies of the enemy
Things that are morally impure
Things that are meant to tear down and not build up
Comparisons
Shame
Fear
Worry
I’m sure you could add some to this list as well. We need to dwell on these things that are excellent and praiseworthy so our minds will stay guarded from anxiety. How do we do it? You can probably guess that answer, too. We stay in touch with Jesus. We stay in His Word. We memorize His Word. We worship by ourselves and corporately. We read books that bolster our faith. There are times we may need to unplug from news sources and social media so we can sit in the silence with Him. We take a walk or just go outside. We do something that refocuses our minds and hearts on Jesus and who He is rather than all the negative things that take our minds away from Him.
You might want to meditate on this list and see what it means to you. But did you notice something? All of these things are words that could be used to describe God. He is truth. He is the most honorable. He is just. He is pure. He is lovely. He is commendable. He is most excellent. And He is certainly worthy to be praised. Fix your thoughts on Him and socially distance your mind from anything that takes your thoughts away from Him.
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