Think on these things
This week, while exploring Bible Gateway (as one does), I stumbled upon Philippians 4:8:
“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
This verse reminded me of when I was about six years old, and firefighters came to my school to talk about fire safety, which was slightly traumatizing. I’ve always been an overthinker. My mind thought about it and concluded that it wasn’t a matter of if my family’s house would burn down but when. I convinced myself that if I stayed awake, I would be able to get my family out before the fire could get to them. Consequently, I spent years with sleep problems.
My family and I did everything possible to make me feel safe enough to sleep, and it wasn't enough. Finally, one of my doctors tried a different approach. She recognized that my mind was constantly thinking, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, so she asked me if I thought I could replace the bad thoughts with something good. Some nights I still had a hard time shutting my brain down for the night, but at least this way, I wasn’t lying awake from fear. Anytime I thought something bad was going to happen, I needed to think of something that I was looking forward to or something good that had already happened. A field trip, a movie night with my family, maybe even just the idea of what outfit I would wear the next day. I tried out this new coping skill. It wasn’t a perfect fix, but I began to get much more sleep with some practice and a little melatonin.
I realized what impact positive thinking could make. I have lived in fear a lot of my life, but scripture says that we should think about good things, and I have seen this work! Granted, you can’t (and shouldn’t) always distract yourself with positive thoughts. Fear is an instinct that we have that serves as an alarm system to solve a problem. However, if you can’t do anything about the problem or become debilitated by something that may or may not happen, the Bible tells us to reflect on the good in the world and that goodness comes from God.
What would happen if we invested that much time and energy looking forward to the future and reflecting on good things that have already happened? Personally, when I am intentional about positive thinking, I often think about all the people who have shown up for me in life and the blessings that have come from blessing others. Baby animals are always a good option as well.
What blessing can you keep in your pocket for a rainy day? Is it your family? A memory of an old friend? Maybe you can focus on planning something positive to look forward to. I would challenge you to think about this and possibly even write a list to go back to. Philippians 4:8 even gives you an outline, and all you have to do is fill in the blanks with the goodness of God.
Kelsey Wenrich
Community and Connections Coordinator