Branch On The Vine

What are your thought patterns? What do you spend the most time thinking about throughout your days and weeks?

Last week I touched on the topic of idolatry. Idolatry is obsessing over or being consumed by someone or something other than God or – in other words – worshiping someone or something other than God. Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:21, “‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” Whether you treasure Jesus or treasure something else, that’s where your mind and heart will be. 

This week we will build on that by dipping our toes into exploring what God says about our thoughts. There could be a whole book written on this topic, but I want to give you a little summary about what the Lord has taught me about it through the Bible and wise counsel in my faith journey. This topic is important to me because our thoughts directly impact our mental health which affects our relationship with God, our physical health, and overall well-being. As a physician assistant, it is my job to try to guide people to a place of well-being.

So, here is what I have learned so far:

1. God knows ALL of our thoughts.

David (one of the kings of Israel) prayerfully writes to God in Psalm 139:2 says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” 

Here he is acknowledging that God knows him not just intimately but fully. I think of the people that know me best and have loved me at my worst. I am extremely grateful they do not know all my thoughts. That would be disturbing for everyone involved. 

Yet even though God knows our ugliest, most-selfish thoughts, He still loves us. Hebrews 4:14-16 discusses how the Lord actually understands our struggle: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

God is omniscient, meaning He knows everything. This is a reason that we should run to Him. No matter how far we run away from Him, we cannot escape his knowledge or hide from Him. When we run to Him in times of temptation, He will give us the strength we need to turn away from sin. He knows when we are struggling and wants to help us through it. Through Jesus, God gives us sufficient grace for the evil and disturbing thoughts that we may have. (More on this at the end of the post).

2. Our thoughts impact our ability to experience peace.

That is probably not shocking news to you. 

If you have ever found yourself to be spiraling down a rabbit hole of anxious thoughts or can’t seem to slow down the worries racing through your mind or ponder the cruelty and heartbreak that exists in the world, you were probably feeling quite the opposite of peace. 

One passage that comes to mind when reflecting on this is in Philippians 4:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:4-8

What we allow ourselves to think about strongly impacts our mood, attitude, and outlook on life. 

This is why Paul (the writer of Philippians) encourages us to rejoice in the Lord. If we choose to rejoice and give thanks when we are feeling down or anxious, our mood can completely turn around for the better. 

Additionally, he calls us to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. Notice how he does NOT tell us to think about what is negative, depressing, worrisome, unrighteous, shameful, untruthful, ugly, bad, foul, or evil.

Of course, we can’t just turn a blind eye to the evil and heartbreaking things about this world. I don’t think Paul wants us to pretend that everything is fine while our neighbors are in need. On the contrary, we should be praying for those who are hurting and helping to meet the needs of people who are struggling. I think he is just wanting us to focus our thoughts more on the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If we can’t see those positive things in the world around us, then we should let the Holy Spirit reflect them through us in the way we love people. 

One way I have tried to help turn my mind to the attributes of Philippians 4:8 is by making a photo album on my phone of moments, places, and people that fit the descriptions. Here is a small piece of it:

3. We are called to obey God with our thoughts.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Colossians 3:1-4

If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, this passage applies to you!

My mentor in college, Arianna, challenged me to memorize this passage, and I’m so thankful that she did. This passage has reminded me of beautiful truth in times when my thoughts have haunted me and made me feel ashamed. 

Paul (also the writer of Colossians) is telling us to set our minds on the things of the Kingdom of Heaven and the things of faith because God dwells with us and within us. Our old self before we knew Jesus has died, (A.K.A. no longer exists), and we are now seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6-7). We are free to set our minds on what He wants – His goals and dreams – because they greatly surpass the things of the earth. We get to experience the glory of God even more intimately now that our lives are hidden with Christ in God. 

One of the reasons we are called to obey God with our thoughts is that He wants what is best for us. Like we learned in Philippians 4, what we allow ourselves to think about impacts our peace.

God wants you to experience His peace. That’s why he calls us to be pure, obedient, and to live a life that is different from the world around us. He has called us to something better, a life more abundant and fulfilling. 

Obeying God with your thoughts may seem daunting and maybe even impossible to do fully, but He gives us more grace! He knows we are not going to be perfect at this, so don’t heap a bunch of shame on yourself if you are struggling to set your mind on things above and on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. 

I want to make that clear especially to people who have obsessive compulsive disorder or struggle with intrusive thoughts. I’m not saying that you should never have “bad thoughts” if you follow Jesus. Everyone has thoughts that they don’t like. The process of our brains creating thoughts is extremely complex and sometimes out of our control. I’m simply presenting what God says about our thoughts and encouraging you to take control of your thought patterns by God’s help and strength. 

To conclude, God knows all of our thoughts and how they impact our ability to experience peace. He calls us to direct our thoughts on the good, the true, the beautiful – on the things of His kingdom.

I will leave you with this hope-filled passage from 2 Corinthians 12 in which Paul (yes, writer of 2 Corinthians as well) reminds us that God works so much through our weaknesses. Through our struggles and shortcomings, we get to see God’s strength more clearly.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Bonus Application Moment: Brainstorm some things in your life that represent the words listed in Philippians 4:8. Make a playlist, collage, or a photo album that reflects these attributes. Here is a list of them in a bulleted format to help your brain reflect on each word.

• True
• Noble
• Right
• Pure
• Lovely
• Admirable
• Excellent
• Praiseworthy