Handling Anxiety (Part 3) – Philippians 4:8-9

Posted on Apr 09

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Let’s consider the idea of junk food — but not the Doritos, Nilla Wafers, and Breyers ice cream we consume from time to time. (Or maybe more than from time to time!)

In our world today, the potential for “junk food” to enter our minds and invade our thoughts is greater than ever. Christians often aren’t viewed as intelligent people, but the truth is that Christians ought to be the very BEST thinkers on the planet. The Scriptures are full of examples of the mind as the focus. Jesus said we should love God with all of our minds … 1 Peter notes that we must grow in knowledge … Romans 12 emphasizes the renewing of our minds. In short, thinking — the mind — is important in our walk with the Lord.

Then, “What does God want in our minds and in our thoughts?” Just as we’re to be intentional about what food we eat when we’re trying to get healthy and stay healthy, we also must be intentional about — and even “pre-determine” — what things we allow in our minds … or else we’ll grab the most available option, which isn’t always the best for us.

Verses 8 and 9 read as follows: “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. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

The important point to remember is that there’s one person who exists above and over things that are true … honorable … just … pure … lovely … commendable … excellent … and worthy of praise: His name is Jesus. And as we practice thinking about the things Paul instructs, we must fix our eyes and hearts on Christ, who ultimately will provide us with mental, spiritual, and emotional health and cast away our anxiety.

But at the same time let’s also ask God to do spiritual checks on our hearts so he can help us put full stops on things in our lives that are contributing to our anxiety. We can think of them as “strongholds.” Check out the encouragement that 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is in this respect: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…”

That’s where God wants us — relying on HIS power to destroy strongholds in our lives that want to defeat us. But we have to work on changing and improving our way of thinking so that our minds are completely set on Jesus.

And then the God of peace will be with us.

By Dave Urbanski

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