Read Philippians 4:4-9

Most Jesus followers I know have had opportunity to practice the invitation of verses 6 and 7 from today’s reading. Through grateful prayer, they have surrendered their anxiety to God in exchange for His unexplainable peace. Is that a regular part of your life? Is there a worry you are carrying now that you should yield to your Father?

In your familiarity with those two verses and their encouragement, don’t lose sight of verse 8 that addresses the focus of your thoughts. How can the peace of Christ guard your heart and mind, if you allow your thoughts to roam freely into some treacherous or even unseemly areas? This current devotional series addresses areas of healthy thought. Over the next few days we will portion out the individual ideas of verse 8. We have titled the series after the apostle’s words: “Think on These Things.”

“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.” (Phil. 4:8)

First of all, we are encouraged to think about “whatever is true.” While that may sound pretty elementary, keep in mind the challenges we face.

• The news we hear or read includes fake news designed to raise our eyebrows and influence our thinking. Some of it is written with a political party slant that may not offer a balanced perspective. Sorting through all of that to “fact check” and discover reality is no simple task. Still, think on “whatever is true.”
• In addition, there is the commentary from others about ourselves that we hear. The accolades of others can lead you to a prideful perspective of yourself. The truth is, you are a sinner, saved by the grace of God. But the commentary of others at times also implies that you are a loser or failure. That is not true either! You are a deeply loved child of God (1 Jn. 3:1), who is valued and useful for His purposes (Eph. 2:10).
• And then there are the things we tell ourselves…our self-talk. With truth, we must regularly remind ourselves that Christ is enough. We don’t need other crutches and escapes in life in order to function. He alone satisfies our longings (Jer. 2:13; Jn. 4:1-18).

Think on “whatever is true!”

Steve Kern