Habits Of HappinessSample

Stress Management Starts in the Mind

The battle with stress in your life is going on between your ears. The battle is in your mind! It’s in your thought life. What you fill your mind with determines the level of stress in your life.

If you want peace of mind, you’re going to have to start controlling what you allow in it. Whatever you put in your mind is going to come out in your life.

The Bible says to “think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected” (Philippians 4:8 NCV).

If you want to lower your stress, you have to change what you think about and control what you allow in our mind. In this verse, the Bible gives us eight tests for whether we should allow something in our mind or not. Ask yourself, “Is it good? Is it worthy of praise? Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it beautiful? Is it respected?

Doesn’t that sound like television? Not at all! Television is getting worse and worse. The heroes on TV today are zombies, vampires, serial killers, crack addicts, corrupt politicians, and perverts. And you call that entertainment? There’s enough of that in the world without inviting it into my home.

When you think about things that are good, worthy of praise, true, honorable, right, pure, beautiful, and respected, you’re really picturing God. Paul is saying in Philippians 4:8 to think about God.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (NLT)

What you think about determines how stressed and worried you are. If you fix your thoughts on God, he will keep you in perfect peace.