Controlling Runaway Thoughts - Philippians 4:8 Series

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Introduction

Obsessive Thoughts

If you were to describe what your thought life is like using a single picture, which of these two photos would best illustrate what goes on in your mind?

A big, jumbled, chaotic pile of crayons, or the ones neatly organized in rows in a box?

We are in a section of Scripture dealing with the subject of anxiety. And most of us, when we have high anxiety, tend to have thoughts that are more like that first picture – a whole lot of confused, disorganized, chaotic thoughts racing at 100 mph. And it’s hard to get control of them because you’re preoccupied with whatever this problem is you’re dealing with. Preoccupation is a strange thing. When you get preoccupied with something, it takes zero effort to think about that thing. If you don’t put forth any effort at all, your mind will just take off thinking about that thing. In fact, it takes all your effort just to stop thinking about that thing, but even then, the thoughts come right back. It can get to the point where you wish you could just have a break from these thoughts, but there is no escape.

It might be thoughts about some conflict you’re having with someone , maybe some horrible memories that won’t stop rising up in your mind , maybe worry about some future thing , or distress over something in your life that you wish were different , constant thoughts about your weight or health or about food or sex or some addiction, or a relationship.

Psychologists would call each of those by a different name , but they all have the common underlying problem of obsessive, preoccupying, nonstop thoughts that dominate your mind. And if something dominates your thinking, it dominates your life. So how do you regain control of your mind in times of stress, so that your thoughts are like that second picture – ordered, controlled, calm, and useful? That’s what Paul is going to teach us in this passage.

Review

To refresh your memory on the context – Paul is teaching the people the character qualities they need in order to have peace, harmony, and unity in the church. You have to have the right relationship with God, with people, and with circumstances. With respect to God, we rejoice in the Lord (v.4). With respect to people, we need to be reasonable (v.5). And with respect to circumstances, we must have peace, rather than anxiety. And Paul is especially concerned about that third one, so this section on anxiety is a lot longer than the first two (vv.6-9). He really wants us to understand how to overcome anxiety.

If you were here last 2 times, you remember that the main thing he said about overcoming anxiety has to do with prayer. Use the emotional energy of the anxiety to enable you to really pray earnestly. And when you pray, make sure you pray with gratitude. That was last time, and if you weren’t here for that one, I’d strongly urge you to listen to that study. Understanding what gratitude is and how to have it is so incredibly important for the Christian life.

And I didn’t mention this last time, but if you want an example of that in Scripture, take a look at Jonah 2. Jonah gets thrown into a stormy sea, he sinks down, and is at the point of drowning, and in what seem like his final moments , he cries out to God to save him, but he does so with thanksgiving.

Jonah 2:5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. … 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. … 9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. … Salvation comes from the LORD.”

Can you imagine drowning, and in your panic you cry out to God with thanksgiving? He prayed with thanksgiving even though he didn’t know how God would answer his prayer yet. Unfortunately, he was a lot like me and he was inconsistent. He did great in that instance, but 2 chapters later his shade plant died and he became practically suicidal. And that’s how we are – we exchange the joy of gratitude for the misery of self-pity. Many of us spent more time this past month complaining than giving thanks, and it did us no good whatsoever. God wants your prayer times to be like Christmas morning – not just a time of hopeful asking, but also joyful receiving. Enjoy his favor toward you as you pray for what’s on your heart, and respond back to him with favor and love – that’s gratitude.