Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8–9
The other day a work colleague asked me if I had any tips on how to not become miserable during the pandemic. That same evening I happened to be reading Philippians 4 with a group of friends on Zoom, and verses 8 and 9 jumped off the page.
Paul’s anti-misery technique is beautiful:
- Whatever is true,
- Whatever is honorable,
- Whatever is just,
- Whatever is pure,
- Whatever is lovely,
- Whatever is commendable,
- If there is any excellence,
- If there is anything worthy of praise . . .
Think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Bro. Steve,
That is one of my favorite memory verses. We used to play a game in the car with the kids where we took turns trying to identify something true, honest, just…
Speaking of “memory verses”, last night your mom mentioned Is. 31:5 “Like flying birds so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem.” You can remember Is 31 has this verse in it by making the 1 a body of a bird and the 3 the wings.
Have a blessed day!
Bro. Phil
Thanks, Phil. Very creative!
For those of us who suffer with anxiety, Paul’s words are almost like those of a therapist. At first, it may appear insensitive to tell someone who is miserable, “Well, stop thinking about it,” but the technique of replacing “bad” thoughts with “good” ones is actually quite effective. Thanks for the “good” thoughts, Steve!
Paul was a smart guy and certainly had more than a “fair share” of trial in his life. Thanks for sharing your comment, Becky.
Great reminder! Thanks for sharing
My pleasure!