As college students we have a lot on our minds. We think about classes, relationships, money (or the lack of money), time, extracurriculars and so on. If you are like me, you probably wish sometimes that you had less on your mind, but I am wanting to talk about something we should all probably think about more – our thoughts.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things.”
This is one of my favorite verses, and I think it really applies to us today. Our thoughts are very powerful, and they can affect us very strongly for better and worse.
How many of our thoughts fall into these categories? True, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous and praise worthy. I have had times when I have gone through this list and realized that my thoughts in the moment did not fit any of this criteria.
So, how do you go about restructuring your thoughts to fit these parameters? I will be honest; I do not have a good cookie-cutter answer for that question, but I can offer you two ideas to help.
First, you can’t overcome negative thinking passively; it is an active struggle. You have to daily be on the lookout for unhealthy thoughts and work to push them out of your mind. Overcoming these thoughts is not easy, and it may take time, but it is worth the fight..
Second, you must listen to what God says. Your mind will be full of whatever you put into it, and in today’s world, most of what is getting into our heads is not good. So, what better way is there to improve our thoughts than by filling our minds with the Bible? I guarantee you there’s nothing that fits the standard of Philippians 4:8 better than the Word of God.
Remember to always think about thinking, and going through the list in Phillipians 4:8 is a great way to start working to renew your mind. It takes work and it takes God, but hey, doesn’t everything?
