“Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. Put into practice what you learnt and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:6-8 GNT
The mind is a very powerful force and begins the internal activity of what will later become external actions. It responds to what we feed it. For example, if I continually focus on all the wrongs in my life, the evil in the world, and all the reasons I can be offended, it won’t be long until I am offended, until all that comes out of my mouth is what I have been replaying over and over again in my mind. This is very likely one of the reasons we are told in Romans to be transformed by the renewing of our minds(Romans 12:1-2).
So often we choose the long way around the things God speaks to in our lives. We are told not to worry, but in all of our prayers to ask God to minister to the need, with a thankful heart. Yet, many times we worry about a situation, meditate on all that can go wrong, and by the time we come around to asking God about it, we are anything but thankful in our hearts. Then anxiety rules our lives instead of the peace of Christ. The mind will not be in peace if it is not stayed on Him.
We are given a remedy here for anxiety, for lack of peace, for wrong attitudes, and the things that bring ingratitude into our lives. We are told to fill our minds with the things that are good and that deserve praise. Then your thoughts will become your actions, producing the good things of God through you.
A grateful heart begins with something as simple as what I choose to feed my mind on a regular basis. God’s way brings joy and peace. It brings life. My way brings wrong attitudes, frustration, and anxiety. I might be wise to lean hard into His answer and watch what kind of gratitude is produced through His life giving nourishment to the mind.
Today, I am grateful that anxiety is not my lot in life. It is my own choice. Which means I don’t have to choose it. I can choose prayer and a thankful heart instead. I am thankful for the Word which challenges and rebukes in order that I might live a life of true peace. I am grateful that my mind, although it needs much work, is in the process of being transformed as His Word is applied. I am also very thankful for the life givers, who continually cast off the temptation to feed the mind things that will not give life.
Comments(4)
Pat McRae says:
February 6, 2015 at 1:46 pmGood Day everyone 🙂 today I will be short and sweet. You see as I started to explore these verses God started to explore the inner me and lay it out before me. It has been a personal time that isn’t for everyone. So as I remain before Him and allow Him to reveal the hidden places of my heart I just send my blessings to you and let you know I appreciate and am so thankful for what God is doing during these 50 days of Gratitude. I am sure we are all very blessed by Pastor Freda’s obedience to follow God’s instructions and sacrifice her time to lead us in such a wonderful study of just how grateful we really are.
Sue Holmes says:
February 6, 2015 at 2:20 pmToday’s scripture leads to some sobering reflections. Mainly that I have a choice. That choice is made very clear in Paul’s message to us. He spells out the choice and tels us how to enforce it.
I can’t claim to be ‘not responsible’. I can be ‘not at peace’. I can be anxious and worry. But there is another choice that offers so much more. And the decision is all mine … it’s my choice.
I am a creation of God and not a by-product of evolution or some cosmic accident. I was created for a purpose … to glorify God. As my Creator He has a right to expect me to fullfil the purpose for which He made me. As my spiritual Father He has a right to desire & covet my attention and focus. He is a jealous God. He wants & deserves all of me. He didn’t sacrifice His Son to get my leftovers.
This scripture has brought me to realize that I can’t give God my all if I am focusing on the negatives of this world. I can’t focus on Him and focus on my circumstances at the same time. The problem or the solution .. which do I choose?
I choose thankfulness. This is God’s remedy for getting my focus off my problems and onto Him. Thankfulness releases His peace & this peace will keep us in union with the Prince of Peace. What a safe place to be … united with Christ!
There is so much to be thankful for on this snowy, blustery day. We live in a privileged place. I thank God today for those who at the risk of their own safety, help ensure mine. I thank Him for warmth and His provision. Most importantly, I thank Him for the Prince of Peace. Without Him is chaos.
Jim Holmes says:
February 6, 2015 at 9:13 pmAfter reading today’s scripture, I began to think about one particular day that I was just overwhelmed with the peace of God. It saturated my mind and my heart and it was as if I was walking on air. I was about to lead in song worship at our church at the time, and my wife and a friend had been downstairs praying for me and the service. I was intoxicated with God’s love and care for us…and for me. I think it would be impossible to worry about anything. And when it came to understanding, I think too that it was out the window so to speak. And as regarding worship and song…..yes, it was God who was so True, so Right, so Pure, so Lovely, so good to Honor His Presence, so Noble….the very Prince of Peace was with us God is so very close to us, to you, to me. He is our Teacher…our constant companion who promised never to leave or forsake us. May I take what I have received from Him, in words, and application…and may His Life touch another through me. Amen.
Susan Craig says:
February 6, 2015 at 10:52 pmIt is no coincidence that these daily studies are on gratitude-not that I believe in coincidences. It is not by chance or happenstance that we find ourselves at these particular verses-not that I believe in chance and happenstance. It is providence that has brought us to these verses,it is by divine appointment that we are here and I do believe in that. It strikes me as providence when the very verses we are studying today are just what God is wanting me to hear right now-today-right where I am in my own life and in my christian journey. These verses are just what I need to hear right now and I must confess these verses are very familiar to me. So familiar that I can recite them from memory in the translation I am most familiar with-the King James Bible. But using a different translation has helped me understand more deeply what God wants me to hear in this passage right at this moment in my life. I find it mind boggling that God gives us exactly what we need to cope with whatever we are facing and no matter how long I have known these verses,He can still teach me something new and fresh from them. The motto of St FXU that I went to and graduated from in 1981 is whatsoever things are true(in latin quecumque sunt vera sp.)taken from these verses in the bible. These verses remind us what we need to do to keep our minds healthy-to meditate on thoughts of things that are true,noble,right,pure,lovely and honorable. The result of focusing on these traits is peace of mind in union with Jesus. Correspondingly ,worry is not to be our focus and it produces anxiety in our minds which is just the opposite of peace. I have an anxiety disorder that has worsened over the years to the point that when I am under any stress at all, it prevents me from focusing at all. This disorder robs me of any ability to take action on anything because I am unable to focus my mind on what I need to do,what God wants me to do. I have full confidence that God has brought me to this point in my life for a reason-to teach me what He wants me not only to know but to also put what I learn into practice. So here goes. God says not to worry-stop the wheels of anxiety from spinning before they even start because I know from experience that once my mind goes in the worry mode,it becomes useless to me in that state and I lose control of my thoughts. How can I stop my mind from going into that tailspin of worry and anxiety when I am stressed?? I feel so powerless to stop myself from going there. Humanly speaking I am powerless. But thankfully God does not ever leave us alone on our journey and help/power is available for this very real problem. He is with us in everything but He wants us to ask for help. Help is available for this problem of worry -all I need to do is ask for help and then I have to be aware that not just my thoughts are involved in this problem but also my heart. This is not just a thinking problem but also a feeling problem. How do I be thankful in my heart when it is feeling fear?? Fear cripples me-keeps me in a state of inaction. If I am ever going to get a handle on this problem and move beyond this,I need to take an action. But the action I need to take has to be developed as a habit before I ever get into a stressful situation-before the worry begins,I have to have a strategy on how to deal with it and I need to practice that strategy over and over again til it becomes a habit-so I will automatically stop the worry cycle and put the strategy I have practiced into action. This is forward thinking-it is mind therapy-but I can not do this on my own so these verses actually give me the key to the strategy I must follow if I am ever going to conquer this problem. Ask God for help but do it with thanksgiving. I have never had problems asking God for help-I ask Him for help all the time because I am well aware of how weak I am-I need His help some days to just get out of bed at the start of the day. But have I been asking Him for help with a thankful heart??? Ahhh…the key to my problem of fear,worry,anxiety-I need to develop an attitude of gratitude by focusing my mind on all the positive things God places in my life on a daily basis. This is not a difficult task-If my mind can focus on the negatives and has lots of practice doing that to the point that when a crisis happens and I am under stress it just goes into the anxiety cycle automatically,then when I focus my mind on the positives and thank God daily for all my blessings,I should be able to reverse this destructive worry cycle. My plan of action is now in effect and I will practice thankfulness daily so that I can have peace in my heart and mind at all times. Thank you Lord for keeping your Word always fresh,always true,always able to help us,always current,always living,always vital to us in our christian walk. Help us remember the things you teach us from your word and thank you that no matter how many times we do it wrong,you keep picking us up and give us the power and ability to try again-to go forward in the light that you give us from your Word and your Spirit. Teach me more Lord-I am listening.