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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)
For Reflection:
We live in a time of unprecedented information. Every day we are bombarded. Advertisements encourage us to be perpetually dissatisfied with our current state so we will be enticed to purchase that new something (that will surely make us complete!). Our culture often seems to delight in judging everyone and everything, creating feelings of insecurity. Our news feed can flood us with more trauma than the human mind and emotions were meant to process at one time. In this environment, it can be all too easy to grow cynical, and quickly find things to complain about. Focusing on the noise and brokenness of the world can cause worry to become a habit.
But as Christians, we have been shown a better way. Yes, we could easily default to the negative. Or, we can choose to practice thinking as these verses remind us in Philippians. It doesn’t mean being in denial about difficulties. Jesus tells us that we will have troubles in this world, but also promises that He has overcome it. Tim Mackie of the Bible Project says: “Peace comes from focusing your thoughts on what is good, true, and lovely. There’s always something that we could complain about, but as followers of Jesus, we know that all of life is a gift, and can choose to see beauty and grace in any life circumstance.”
Whether we are in a season of plenty, or not, we are reminded here that it is possible, and a gift, to fix our thoughts on better things. As Romans 12:2 says, we can “be transformed by the renewing of our mind, allowing God's peace to fill us”.
Let us pray:
Dear Jesus, open my eyes to the gifts You place all around me everyday. Help me to choose to feed my mind and soul with the goodness of Your Word. Thank you for true peace and hope that comes only from You. AMEN.
I wonder, what negative messages have I been absorbing from the culture around me?
How might this Bible passage help me to turn that awareness into a choice to meditate on the true, the lovely, the praiseworthy things?
What practices might I add to or subtract from my daily habits to help me connect more with God’s goodness?