Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter

Our brains are wired to notice and remember negativity. It’s a survival mechanism. While we can’t change our nature, we can train our brains to think holistically and about positive things that bring us joy. This doesn’t mean we ignore reality or pretend things are wonderful when they’re not. It means we intentionally choose to notice, appreciate, and anticipate the goodness of God in our lives. We have to choose what to think about.

In Philippians 4:8, Paul lists eight qualities to think about. He says to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, virtuous, and praiseworthy. These represent not just good things but eight qualities that describe God. In God and in our reflections of who He is and what He has done, we can find what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise. Thinking about these things can be difficult. This is why Paul tells us to “put it into practice.”

We are not going to change our way of thinking overnight. Filling our minds with good, true, pure, lovely, and honorable thoughts takes practice. It requires intentionality. Here are three quick and simple tips that we can put into action immediately to help us start practicing right thinking.

1. Meditate on one characteristic of God. God is faithful.
2. Thank God for one thing. God, I thank you for being consistently good.
3. Say aloud one biblical truth. All things work together for good.

While these tips help us think about the right things, we can’t retrain our brains on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to help us recognize, reject and replace thoughts that are not aligned with His truth. Let’s stir up joy by asking the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and keep our minds on the right things.

Ponder

Think about what kind of attitude you want to have today. How will a change in your attitude and perspective influence your day? What should you spend less time thinking about?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit who convicts me when my thinking needs adjusting. Empower me to run my thoughts through the lens of Philippians 4:8 so that I can experience Your peace and joy. Help me to resist the temptation to focus only on the negative things of this earthly life and learn to control my thoughts, so they don’t steal my joy in You.