Daily Devotional
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Have you noticed that even when good things are happening in our lives there is a natural tendency for our minds to think about what is not going well? There are two things that result from this. Firstly, we forget to give God thanks for the good things that are happening in our lives. This could have been what happened to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt why they ended up complaining so much. While they would have been happy to be delivered, continually thinking about what was not going right would have caused them to forget to give God thanks.
The second thing that results from negative thinking is doubt and fear. The negative thinking that the Israelites allowed themselves to engage with was their undoing in Numbers 14 as it caused them to doubt God, and this prevented them from possessing their promised land at that time. Rather than allow negative thoughts to permeate our mind we must think good thoughts.
How can we consistently think good thoughts? Philippians 4:8 gives us the answer, it instructs us to think on six (6) categories of thoughts: things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report. The essence of what the scripture is suggesting is that we should choose to think good thoughts. We may not have any control over the natural inclination of our minds to think negative thoughts, but whenever it happens, we can quickly break that thought pattern by redirecting our thoughts to think good thoughts. One way to break the negative thought pattern is to reflect on the good things that God is doing and give Him thanks for them. Another way to achieve a similar result is to choose to think about what you want to see, rather than what you don’t want. By doing these two things we will more consistently think good thoughts and break the pattern of negative thinking.
Life Application: Choose to think good thoughts by making a conscious decision to quickly redirect your thoughts to think good thoughts when negative thoughts arise.
Prayer: Father, cause my mind to stay on you. Help me to think positively on all that is just, pure, lovely and of a great report and to see the best in all situations. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Devotional 
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