Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-8(NLT)
The epistle to the Philippians is written while Paul is in prison. Even so, it could be argued that it is one of the most encouraging and quotable letters of Paul’s writings. Facing certain death, Paul encourages us to live up to a higher standard as Christian believers and gives us practical ways to realign our focus on God and remain positive in the direst of circumstances.
We are prone to worry. In today’s fast paced world and constant digital connectivity, anxiousness and depression has risen significantly for all age groups. The American Psychological Association reported at the end of November 2020 that diagnoses of visiting patients rose 74% for anxiety disorders and 60% for depressive disorders just in the year and a half from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/11/telehealth-survey-summary.pdf)
Couple those natural stressors with the digital distractions that permeate our 21st century lives and it’s easy to see why we have a difficult time focusing on the positive things around us. Slowing down to meditate on God’s word and praying causes us to remove our focus from the stressful and toward the peaceful.
Paul tells us that God’s divine peace is available to us and is a shield against the anxiety and depression that can overtake our hearts and minds, or rather our feelings and thoughts.
After realigning our focus through prayer and thankfulness, Paul admonishes us to “fix” our thoughts. The following list given helps us to see God’s sovereignty in our situation. It keeps us focused on the positive. But it begins with a personal choice. To “fix” our minds on these things we must choose to be vigilant in looking for them. We can allow the negative to seep in and surround us, or we can look for the things that are worthy of praise.
We may have moments when the anxiousness, worry, or negative burdens seemingly surround us, but just like finding Waldo in the crowd of people we can fix our thoughts on finding the praiseworthy in every situation. And, just like Waldo, it’s always there.
Everyday Chivalry 