Scripture:
Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [9] What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Observation:
I think about Paul regularly. Here is a man with true joy from the LORD. Most of his letters were written from a prison cell. Yet you can’t tell by reading them. Here, he is more than likely in prison, saying we need to be thinking about the right things. I believe he knew where the battle was. It wasn’t in the field where blood was shed it was in the mind where we would fear and anxiety would take over. The what ifs and how coulds and I can’t believe. That seemed to come up. So let’s remind ourselves. Paul is more than likely from a prison cell telling us to think about good things. Think about uplifting things. To keep our minds on honorable thoughts. He of all people knew how hard our own minds could attack us.
Application:
The battle is in our heads. The most dangerous place in the world is being alone trapped with your thoughts. Between my ears, there is a battle that can overtake my actions if I’m not careful. Fear and anxiety can take over if I feed it. Paul wrote about this, and I felt like I needed to bring it to light this morning. I have often said, “I have lived through some of the most horrendous things… most of which never happened.” When we get trapped by our thoughts, we have to find a way out. As my brother Steve says, we need to change the channel. To refocus our attention on good things or we will get consumed with fear and things that may never happen. The battlefield is in our minds. That’s where the enemy attacks us. Have you ever noticed that? Well, how do you fight yourself and your thoughts… you have to be able to refocus them. You have to trust that GOD is everything HE says HE is and that HE will come through for you. If you do your end and trust HIM, HE will do HIS end and provide all your needs according to HIS riches and glory. Taking our thoughts captive is the key. Thinking about the belt of truth. What does the word of GOD tell me? Who does it say I am? Am I defeated, or am I more than a Conqueror? Am I a victim, or has HE given me victory through Christ Jesus? It’s easy to let our thoughts consume us and direct our path. Reacting out of fear to something that may never happen if our thoughts were on the right thing. The real question is, do you trust GOD? Is HE good or not? Will HE provide, or does HE leave HIS people begging for bread? All this is the reason why the belt of truth is not only the first piece of armor mentioned but one of the most important. We have to know what the word says. That way, when the attack happens between our ears. We can fight the good fight and win the race. Our own thoughts are our worst enemy. To fight your battle, we have to know the enemy… it’s our thoughts. I encourage you to know GOD’S word know what HE says about you. Find out who HE is and meditate on that. HE thinks about you… spend some time thinking about HIM. HE is good. HE is righteous. HE is lovely. HE is pure, and despite what the world says, HE is all you really need.
Prayer:
Father, it’s easy to get trapped in our minds and worry about things you have already taken care of. Trusting you is not always easy. We think that by consuming our minds with fear and anxiety, we can fix it. However, that will never work. Help us to keep our minds fixed on you. I know it’s not easy, and it tends to go away from everything in our nature. The battle is real, but you have provided us with armor. One of those pieces is the helmet. I believe this helmet is designed to protect our thoughts because when we truly know who you are, we will trust that you see all that we face and bring us through the other side. Unscathed victorious. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray amen.