Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). God didn’t only instruct us to mount guard at the door of our hearts against the wrong thoughts from passing through, He also tells us the kind of thoughts to allow. That’s what we read in our theme scripture. There are people who have heard something that wasn’t true, or honest or pure, or of good report, yet they kept it in their minds until it controlled their lives and led to depression or fear of imaginary enemies or unforgiveness or hatred, or fear or other negative emotions and reactions. No, that’s the wrong way to live.
Don’t brood over anything that’s detrimental to your spirit. Rather, make a practice of forming the right images in your mind in consistency with the Word. When you do, those thoughts will create realities. Thoughts have power and create realities. What you think about, you become. That’s the reason your thoughts must be wholesome. The admonition in our opening verse is actually a call to think on the Word; to have Word-based thoughts.
When you think on the Word, it’ll create and produce in you ideas and pictures of success, endless possibilities and victories, love and fellowship with God. When things get tough, refuse to be stressed or flustered. Rather, get hold of God’s Word and brood over it. Don’t think or talk about the problem; just ponder on, and mutter God’s Word about the situation. Soon enough, there’ll be a change; a permanent change. Hallelujah! For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7)
You have the ability to choose what you should think about and reject what you shouldn’t. This might sound like a mystery to some people just because their minds run riot all the time! But the Bible says, “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). That suggests you can direct your mind to think the right thoughts only! You can control your thoughts.
Thoughts are more than mere imaginations; they are mental pictures of the mind with constructive or destructive capabilities. Thoughts, many times, are your own creation-they are the mental constructions of your mind based on your imagination. They have the power to keep you in bondage or liberate you to be the best of you. That’s why until you change a man’s way of thinking, his life and the circumstances of his existence will not change. Even God can’t do anything for that man. That’s how powerful our thoughts are, and this is the reason we’re admonished in Scripture to choose our thoughts; think only on things that are just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Don’t let your mind wander off with the wrong thoughts; discipline your mind to choose thoughts you will accept and process.
The Bible says to mount a garrison over your heart (Proverbs 4:23); don’t allow every thought to come in. Reject thoughts that tend to demean or depress you; accept thoughts of success, joy, victory, and prosperity that are based on God’s Word. Your life goes in the direction of your thinking, for you’re the character of your thoughts. So, it doesn’t matter what happens to you, or in what unpleasant situation you find yourself, you can either decide to remain there or come out of it by imbibing the right thinking! Appraise the situation from the standpoint of God’s Word, for nothing in this life can make you disadvantaged.
Change is something we all want, should have, and continually crave; change from glory to glory. Change, whether positive or negative, results from the words you pay attention to and the thoughts they stir up in your heart. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples to hear and think right. In Mark 4:24, He said, “…Take heed what ye hear….” Then in Luke 8:18, He said, “Take heed therefore how ye hear….” How you hear is as important as what you hear, because how you hear often determines your response and attitude, as well as the ability to appropriate the power of the words that come to you.
Words make or mar. Our lives are influenced by words; the atmosphere in your home depends on the words that are spoken therein. Your relationships are built on words. Our lives are so dependent on words that not only do they affect our attitudes, but they also affect our health and living conditions. Whether or not you’re living in faith or in fear is a function of what you hear. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word.
God’s Word contains positive information that bolsters faith, while fear comes through negative information. Many today have become faint-hearted from listening to media reports on the deplorable state of the world’s economy. If only they’d turn their attention to the Lord and His infallible Word! Job 22:29 says When men are cast down, then you shall say there’s lifting up. You’re in the world, but not of the world.
Your prosperity and success are independent of the vagaries of nature, economics, and economies of this world. Have this consciousness. Think like a victor. Live as a champion. 1 John 4:4 says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Believe and accept the integrity of God’s Word. Think the Word-way. God has given you His Word as the veritable agent to change and transform your life from glory to glory: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).