God's Measuring Stick to Your Thoughts
How do we keep our thought life under control? The world will tell us that positive thinking is the answer, but thinking on the right things is only part of the solution. God has a better way and He’s given us step-by-step instructions that are found in Philippians 4:6-8: “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].” (AMP)
The cares we have in this life are very real. It’s difficult to just dismiss them or refuse to think about them. Until we know that the cares we have are being taken care of, we often can’t let go of them and they begin to weigh on us. We have to put the care and responsibility of those things on someone we can trust and rely on; the only One who never fails us; our Heavenly Father. That is why our first step to being free in our minds is to follow the instruction given in Philippians 4:6, “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.” This is echoed in I Peter 5:7 (AMP) where we are instructed to cast “… the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
So many people feel that it is irresponsible to just throw our cares on God and continue to live life without worry, but that’s not so. We’re only irresponsible if we go before God with a care in our life and He speaks to our heart to do something in particular and we don’t do it. For example, let’s say you were faced with financial trouble. When you go to God to present the need and cast that care, ask Him what He would have you do, keeping your heart open to His instructions. He might not tell you to do anything, and if that’s the case, you don’t do anything. On the other hand, He might speak something like this to your heart: “I want you to stop spending money you don’t have on your credit cards.” What would you do? You should heed His instruction because in your obedience is your miracle. Consider the wedding in Canaan where Jesus turned the water into wine (John 2:1-10). Mary went to Jesus and presented the need. She cast the care on Him because she knew He would take care of it. She also told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. What happened? Jesus gave instructions to the servants to fill the wine pots with water and then pour it out like wine. They heeded His instruction and the miracle took place.
It’s important to understand that the wonderful peace that Philippians 4:7 speaks of only comes after we’ve followed the instruction of Philippians 4:6. Once we’ve prayed and cast our cares on God, peace comes and stands guard over our hearts and minds.
Let’s look a little further now at verse 8. What do we do after we’ve cast our care (verse 6) and entered into peace (verse 7)? We set a guard and watch over our mind by interrogating the thoughts that would like to steal our peace. We are to measure our thoughts against every qualifier listed in Philippians 4:8 which tells us, “whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].” It’s not enough that what we are thinking on is true; it has to meet the rest of the qualifications listed. For example, you might have a problem with looking at a member of the opposite sex in an improper way. It may be true that they are lovely in appearance, but is the thought pure? Is it honorable and seemly? Is it kind, winsome, and gracious? Maybe you’ve lost a loved one and are bombarded with thoughts of misery and regret. It may be true that you’re miserable without them and it may be true that you have a lot of regret, but those thoughts aren’t of a good report. They’re not lovely, and there isn’t virtue or praise in thinking on those things; to continue to think on them would be destructive.
We could say that Philippians 4:8 is like a litmus test and at whatever point the thought fails the test, it’s immediately disqualified and must be thrown out. The thought should be viewed as an intruder that doesn’t belong and we should refuse to allow our minds to think on it.
What have you been carrying as a care or concern? What is it that you’re not trusting God with? The Bible says we are to take His Word and write it on the tablet of our hearts. So take Philippians 4:6-8 and memorize it. Plant these words into your heart, put them into practice, and enjoy a life of peace!