“Wha’cha thinking?” I ask my husband.
The fresh Fall air blows inside where he sits at the kitchen table pondering who knows what, like a sifter, he thinks. He discards what isn’t useful, and tosses it away. He treasures what is.
He’s made like that. And I’m grateful.
He turns toward me and smiles. But I can see in his eyes he is still far away. Another planet. He is considering some problem whether it is house maintenance, car, or technology. The thoughts churn and as his gears tend to do, they will lock in the right place. Once they do, a problem solved will require action. And so he departs for yet another world and project.
God knew we didn’t need two of us to wring hands, talk through lines of stringy emotional knots, or pace floors senselessly.
I’m not sure what you all are thinking about these days, but if you find yourself churning in a mire of “stuff,” let me open wide some fresh air from God’s Word for your brain.
“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.” (Philippians 4:8 ESV)
These verses, almost staid in my reading by memorization and repetition, merit a new consideration for me in the light of world events and that dirty world of politics. Because my thoughts, far too often, center and churn on issues with which I am troubled, angry, or at the least, unsettled.
I pontificate. I criticize. I argue in my head. And I am absolutely horrified by the thought processes and actions which are becoming standard and normalized.
My dad used to say that how we think is who we are.
If I could record my thoughts of a day, and of course God can, I’m pretty sure I would be aghast at the play of repetitive cycles and meaningless junk verbalized within my head-speak. I would hear my voice whine, rehash hurts, and injustices with scorn. I would hear disrespect and condemnation.
The Word of God tells me that how I think matters in how I live.
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9 ESV)
How can I tether my thought life to True, Honorable, Just, Pure, Lovely, Commendable, Excellent, and Praise-worthy things? And if I do, will my life actually inhabit His peace instead of my turmoil?
I need to be wise in what goes in if I expect not to drive my energies down roads of anxiety and doubt.
“Think about these things,” verse eight concluded. “On these things dwell, deliberate, reckon.”
Sit in truth. Resist speculation or gossip. Don’t swim in what the world teaches, rather examine Scripture to see if your understanding aligns with the Word of God.
When we practice a mindset of things truthful, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy, our lives begin to reflect outwardly the peace of God’s inward presence.
These verses provide the sieve which strains the waste of our thinking.
My dad was pretty wise in saying that the way we think really is who we are. My husband’s sifting of thoughts is a fine art. But it is God’s Perfect Word that is the true grid through which to restore His peace to my day.
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