Think About the Things You Think AboutSample

No, Really—Think About These Things!

Before we get too far into this Bible Plan, watch this video to see what our main verse boils down to. (Reminder: This video uses the NIV version of the Bible. You might want to use it for this Bible Plan, too.) 

So, are all of your thoughts worth thinking about? Use the “think about Jesus” test! Are you overly sarcastic? Constantly complaining? Just plain waking up with a bad attitude? Think about Jesus. He wants us to be loving and thankful. That’s noble and pure! Are your thoughts matching up? 

And, hey—maybe your thoughts about others or about your life’s situations are negative for a good reason. Maybe you’re struggling with angry thoughts over someone who’s actually rude. Maybe you’re stuck in sad feelings over something bad that’s happened to you. Are you supposed to just ignore feelings that aren’t best described as “lovely”? 

Not at all. Jesus suffered when He was one of us, a human living on Earth. He suffered big time. And He handled that suffering without becoming defeated by it. He prayed out His feelings to God. He asked His Father in heaven to help Him. But Jesus also prayed for God the Father’s will to be done, and not His own. We can, too! We can talk it all out to God in prayer. And we can find trusted adults to talk to when our feelings are getting too big for us to manage. 

And then, using God’s wisdom, we can stop being slaves to the negative, harmful, or painful thoughts that want to choke out everything that really is good, true, lovely, pure, and praiseworthy around us. We can be like Jesus! We can face our difficult emotions with His help. And we can look for what we can praise Him for in our everyday life. 

Ask yourself: Do my negative thoughts and emotions ever control my attitude? Does a bad moment turn into a bad day a little too often? Who can I talk to about this? How can I bring my frustrations and pain to God and trusted others so I can heal? 

Challenge yourself: It’s journal time again! What was one thing that was good, praiseworthy, or excellent today? It has to be from today, and you can’t write the exact same thing as yesterday. Write it down and put today’s date by it. 

Pray: God, thank You for understanding that sometimes it’s hard not to get stuck in negative emotions. Thank You for helping me find a way out. And thank You for always placing something to be thankful for in my life. Thank You—for You! In Jesus’ name, amen.