Think On These Things

Phi 4:8-9
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

If we could restrict our minds to only think on certain things, we would be so much better off. What is actually the truth that I should be thinking on? That God is good, regardless of what my eyes and heart tell me. If He is good, then whatever I am going though at this time is not out of His sight, nor are my cries away from His earshot.

My life most likely has not veered so far off track that His right arm cannot save me. And if l have been earnestly seeking Him, this is just a lull in the activity. God is always at work in the spirit realm, but I cannot see what He is moving around to accomplish His plan for me and everyone else.

If God is good, then this moment is meant to be kindly toward me, whether it feels good to my flesh or not. If God is good all the time, then He is good even when I don’t understand Him. This is true, this is honest, this is just, this is a good report.

What is pure then? Perhaps that means undiluted or unmixed with my own carnal thoughts and feelings. I always read and see His Word through my own feelings and understanding at the moment. His pure words and intentions toward me do not change, regardless of what I think. However, I often add my own two cents to His word, making it an impure word.

His Word is true just as I read it, no ands, ifs, or buts. His plan and His promises remain unchanged at all times. He loves me, wants to protect me, and conform me to His son’s image at all times.

Any thought that arises needs to be compared with these types of thoughts, and spewed from my mind like I would spit out soured milk. Negative thoughts don’t, as we wrongly assume, better prepare us for the awful things we imagine await us in the future (but rarely ever happen). I need to fill myself with the truth to such a point that any lie will feel like a foreign entity trespassing in my body, and I can immediately recognize it as having no place in my life.

Penny Haynes
http://ChristianWomenWithDepression.com