Maintaining Peace
Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. 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. – Philippians 4:8-9
“We are told in Scripture not to worry about anything, but to pray about everything with thanksgiving in our hearts for all that the Lord has done in our lives. This command comes with the promise that the peace of God will then act as a sentinel guarding our hearts and minds. However, we can quickly lose that peace if we don’t have control over our thought life; because what we think about affects us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Wrong thoughts can come from our not being careful about what we’re watching or listening to. Satan also suggests thoughts to our minds. It is for this reason that the Bible tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That means dwelling on good things and not the wrong or negative things that have happened to us in the past. Wrong thoughts might knock on the door of our minds, but we don’t have to let them in and entertain them. Let’s tell the Lord, ‘I give you not just my heart, but my mind as well.’ As we think about whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy, we will maintain the peace of God that transcends the negative situations that cause us to worry.” – Pastor Cymbala
- How do we lose the peace of God that we have secured by making our requests known to God?
- Where do wrong thoughts come from?
- Discuss the choice we have when a thought knocks on the door of our minds, and the consequences of the choice we make in this regard.
- What kinds of things are we to think about, according to God’s Word?
- What has your own experience been with right and wrong thinking?