Dwell on Good Things

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Phillipi from an ancient jail cell and admonished and encouraged them with a beautiful letter that uplifted the Gospel of Jesus Christ in an amazing way. I say that to say that what Im about to say is one very small part of a book that is densely packed with truth and joy inducing, encouraging words. So go read it if you never have.

One thing that Paul says in the 4th chapter really struck me and its implication for happiness and holiness in our lives is so far reaching. He says this...

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Paul says to dwell on good things. As humans I think it is so contrary to our nature to actually dwell on good things. Most of the time we only dwell on things that worry us. Our worries naturally assault our thinking and I think this has a lot to do with why Christians don't experience the joy that they ought to experience. Or we dwell on sinful things. Whether it is lust, someone we dont like, the fear of man manifesting itself in insecurity, or any other sinful thoughts, we often allow our minds to be filled with ideas and images that are detrimental to our joy in Jesus Christ.

As I thought about the question, "Do I dwell on good things?" I realized very seldomnly do I dwell and ponder deeply good things. If a good thought comes it is usually very fleeting and is quickly replaced with other less virtuous thoughts. However, many people have known the joy of having their mind filled with good thoughts. If you have ever been "in love" you know the feeling of having your mind full of good thoughts. "I am loved by this person! I cannot believe it! This is so wonderful...how did I end up with her/him?!?!"

For the Christian there is opportunity to be "in love" with the savior everyday of our lives. We may not feel "in love" with him most of the time. But why is this? Is it because we are not loved deeply by the Lord? Is it because Jesus does not look upon us with great joy? It is because the Father does not sing and dance over us? No! Of course not. It is largely to do with the fact that we forget these things. We do not forget them with our minds only but with our hearts. Our affections forget the God of our salvation.

I remember one point about 5 years ago when I was struggling to overcome lustful thoughts (I am still struggling). At that time I remember a thought came to my head..."what in the world am I going to think about if I stop all this lustful thinking??" ...haha! It was as if I thought the Christian life would require me to think about nothing. To just have a blank mind ALL the time! My mind was so consumed with lustful thoughts that I had forgotten what it was like to think about other things.

Paul gives the answer to my question here in Phillipians 4:8. We dont just cease from thinking on the empty and the evil, but we begin to dwell on the GOOD things God has done, is doing, and will do! We learn to delight in the fellowship we have as Gods family. We learn to soak in the truth of Gods love revealed to us in Jesus. We learn to rejoice with the global church when we hear good news of how God is working around the world. We become praise minded as our thoughts are transformed.

I am encouraging myself and hopefully you if you read this. Think on good things. What do you have to be grateful for? What are you seeing God do in the lives of people around you and in your own life? How deep a debt has God forgiven you? Where would you be today without him lovingly breaking into your life and interrupting your pursuit of sin? What would you be hoping in? A career? Your intellect? Your looks? The stock market? Your family? A sports team? And when you begin to think on these things do not let them be fleeting thoughts that come and go in a flash. Rather, apprehend those thoughts. Dont let them go! Extract every ounce of joy from them you possibly can! This is good and pleasing to God, plus, it produces the joy and satisfaction our thirsty souls long after.