Stinking Thinking?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

So often what derails the proper care of ourselves is our thinking. We face a failure or a mishap and start blaming ourselves. The soundtrack of shame repeats over and over in our minds, whether it’s “I’m a bad mother” or “No one loves me” or “I can never do anything right.”

The apostle Paul writes this section in his letter to the Philippians to help them reorient their thinking - to break the cycle of the messages we let play in our minds.

Today, take some time to think about the good things - the God-things - that are true about you, that are noble about you, that are right about you, that are pure about you, lovely about you, or admirable about you. Ponder what God has done in you that is excellent and what parts of you are praiseworthy. Think about these things today. And give God thanks for the incredible work that Jesus does in messy people like us to redeem, heal and set us free.