Philippians 4:8_) Finally, brothers, 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. 9_) Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Ahhh..the next verse in Philippians. How did God know I needed to hear this? It’s been a long and strange year for us. Amazingly good things have happened and yet amazingly bad things have also come our way. Hmm…see, there it is. “Bad things”? If I believe what I have been writing about to date, then “bad things” should not be in my vocabulary, right? This is where my flesh runs right smack into what I know of what and who God is in my life. There are days when I want to be upset with the seeming injustices of my life’s events. Surely no one would judge me too harshly if they were facing the challenges we are and have been this year. But then…I am quickly reminded of how miserable I can make myself if I dare give in to focusing on these things or wondering why. I’ve been there and done that sadly, too many times in my life.
It would appear that I may not be the only one who has, because this scripture addresses that very thing. Paul is telling us when we are thinking and pondering things, that we should focus on the positive things in our lives. He says to focus on what is true. This says to me that I should be honest in my thinking. Be willing to look at the truth, the facts, not what I want to believe is true. I have a choice when I let my mind start pondering, to let my imagination run and make assumptions, read between the lines, or force my expectation into a situation. Or, I can heed Paul’s instructions to focus on what is true.
Paul also tells us to focus on what is noble. Webster says that to be noble means “to have or show high moral principles or ideals.” All we have to do is read the news on any given day and we’ll see how “un”noble our world has become. Our examples are leaders, government officials, CEO’s, elected officials, even church leaders, etc who are being indicted on a regular basis due to their lack of high moral principles or ideals. We have living examples of why this characteristic is so devastating not to just those guilty of such lack, but often to many who are directly or indirectly involved with them. Some may call this value system old fashioned, in a day when “gray” rules and black and white is mocked. But, Paul is telling us that if we want the peace of God in our lives must reflect high moral principles or ideals such as honesty and integrity.
Think on things that are pure. “Wholesome or untainted by immorality” is what Webster tells us that “pure” means. Anyone reading this is surely already aware of the battle we are all faced with to avoid the barrage of immorality being put before us through the media. Paul warns that giving way to this exposure and focusing on such things will rob us of our promise of God’s peace. Guarding our hearts and minds from such things requires a conscious effort. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us how important this is; “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”.
Whatever is lovely- “Exquisitely beautiful”, think on these things. I love that. Exquisitely beautiful would at first seem to be a visual exercise. But how often do you let your mind wander and visualize things you have enjoyed seeing or dreamed about seeing. Paul is reminding us to let our minds go to those dreams or those places that fed our souls with joy. Feeding the soul with exquisitely beautiful memories, view of nature, watching the faces of those we love, etc are all lovely in my book.
Whatever is admirable means whatever is “deserving of respect and approval”. And, “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy_think about such things”. We’ve all met people whom, no matter what you try to do to change the conversation, choose to dwell on negative subject matter. When we allow ourselves to dwell in these mindsets, we rob ourselves of our peace because we choose to remember what we perceive as the “bad things” of our lives. The cure is a choice and a conscious decision to bring my thoughts under control and remember to filter everything I am thinking or want to speak through who I know God to be. Things that are praiseworthy are considered things that are “deserving of approval and admiration”. It brings me full circle back to what scripture tells me about the God I serve. He is deserving of my approval and admiration because He has proven to me He is trustworthy. Regardless of the facts of my circumstances, the fact I can always count on is that God is in control and will continue to work it all out for my good. My job is to dwell on that and focus on praising him and thanking Him. We are not victim’s. We are His children and He promises He is mindful of us and is working out our circumstances.
Paul says to put these things into practice and are promised the “God of peace will be with you.” For us, I’ve coined the year 2009, the year of new dreams. New job, new house, new state, and old friends are what we are looking for in 2009. New dreams are only going to bring peace, when bathed in prayer, thanksgiving and submission to God’s timing and His direction. I commit myself to focusing on things true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. How about you?
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