What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.. —Philippians 4:9 ESV
Have you ever tried to do something new? It can seem awkward at first, even a bit uncomfortable. However, the more you “practice”, the easier it gets and the better you become at whatever it is you’re doing. Professional athletes and musicians, to name just a few, spend hours and hours practicing to become better and to achieve record-breaking results. It’s amazing the breakthroughs and the successes that can be had by just practicing something over and over again. For many of us, we need to practice new ways of thinking.
We all have challenges in life from the small stuff to the big stuff. How we think about these things can greatly impact our quality of life. We often think that our first thoughts about any given situation are trustworthy and accurate. Sometimes they are, but many times they aren’t, especially if we are dealing with an adversity or difficult situation. If we’re honest, when faced with some of these difficult situations, our first thoughts may be ones that are overly exaggerated or maybe even catastrophic. Even just everyday encounters can be viewed through a colored lens that unrealistically casts us into a negative, harsh or discouraging perspective. Becoming aware of how our thoughts can help or hurt our well-being and even spiritual growth can have a profound effect on our lives.
For many years, I taught an "overcoming depression” class in the secular sector. I worked with people from all walks of life who were dealing with a wide array of issues and problems. As part of the class structure, we would take examples of some of these things and chart them on the board to uncover any distorted thinking and then see where we could replace those thoughts with more realistic or accurate thoughts. (This is a practice I continue to use to this day with my clients). What would always be shown was that the way an individual was thinking about the stressful situation was actually making their burdens heavier. Finding relief and encouragement when we’re battling difficulties doesn’t come in denying the reality, minimizing or pretending. What brings relief and lifting the burden is recognizing that there can be different ways of viewing the situation (more accurately or realistically) and shifting the perspective. Seeing how this works in real time and with real problems always was deeply impactful for both the ones who shared their challenges and the ones who were observing since no matter the situation, everyone could relate to some degree of how the thought processes work.
God Himself cares deeply how we think about things. He knows we are human living in a broken world, and He’s given us the tools to overcome and move forward in everything we face while on earth. There’s a small passage in the book of Philippians chapter 4 in the Bible that is so rich with instruction on how we are to live and think that will bring us peace and joy:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9
Through the Apostle Paul, the Lord is telling us how to think. We aren’t to be anxious, but we’re to bring our requests to Him through prayer and supplication, which means a humble request and authentic belief and trust in God to answer. Instead of surrendering to anxiety and fear, as Christ followers, we can praise Him that we can cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7) releasing them from our hearts and minds. As we do this, we see the exchange that takes place –the peace of God, that isn’t natural but supernatural and surpasses understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
He then tells us to think about the positive –things that are pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise. I think this was one of the very first notations of the importance of positive thinking! Two thoughts cannot occupy the same mind space. You can’t be thinking about all of the things you are thankful for and at the same time, taking note of everything you’re mad about in your head. Even in very difficult, trying circumstances, the Lord doesn’t want us to despair. He wants us to trust in Him and His plan and paths for us and to remember all of the ways He’s been faithful to us in the past and will continue to be in the future since He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
He then goes an additional step and tells us that we are to put into “practice” these things. Specifically, Paul is telling the Philippians that they are to practice what they have learned and received from him and seen him do. That it’s not enough to just learn about these things, but they need to be practiced. We all could benefit from practicing new ways of thinking or challenging our thoughts when they are distorted in the face of life’s challenges.
When we practice thinking in these ways, something amazing happens –our burdens are lighter and we can exchange despair for joy. I find it interesting that the passage starts with:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” –Philippians 4:4
This may seem like a difficult command, but Paul then goes on to tell us how to do this. By giving our prayers and requests to God, and checking our thoughts and attitudes and replacing them with positive thoughts and trust in God, we can have joy, and He will give us true peace. And, trusting the One who holds our lives and relying upon Him and His promises is more powerful than just challenging any distorted thoughts we have.
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All of God’s promises for this life and the one to come are available to you through His Son, Jesus. Do you know Him? Have you heard what He said about eternal life? Do you believe Him?
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