Transformed: Mental Health - Day 3

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—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 (NIV) 

You are what you think about. Proverbs 23:7 NKJV tells us, "For as a [man] thinks in his heart, so is he."

You've probably heard the phrase about computer processing, "garbage in, garbage out." The same is true with your mind. Put garbage in—the types of movies you watch, the Internet sites you visit, the music you listen to, the magazines you browse, the books you read—and The output of your life will be garbage too. 

So how can you keep the "garbage" out of your mind? You can't just empty your mind of bad thoughts. You must deliberately replace them with something else. Vacuums do not exist naturally in the world, they are artificially created. If you create a vacuum, something fills it. For instance, your gas tank is never empty; it's either filled with gas or with air. The gas replaces the air, the air replaces the gas. Something will always fill a void. Our minds will always be filled with something, but we get to choose what fills them. So what types of thoughts do you fill your mind with?

Here's a list: "Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." The end result is God's peace in your heart. The bottom line is that if a thought doesn't pass this test, don't allow it in your mind. That's easier said than done, which is why the end of the verse says "put it into practice." God gave you a filter that brings peace of mind. Practice using it every day!

Next Steps. Write down your answers to these questions. 

What did you hear?

What do you think?

What will you do?

Now talk to God...

Work Cited

Warren, R. (2014). Daily devotions: Transformed: How God Changes Us. Rancho Santa Margarita, CA: Saddleback Church.