Think on... this

What kinds of thoughts are we supposed to be thinking? Is this a strange question to ask? Probably because often we feel as if we have no control whatsoever over the things we think. We'll say stuff like- 'This just popped in my head.'  Or we'll say- 'My thoughts were all over the place.'  Things like that aren't uncommon and they are true. We do have thoughts pop into our heads and sometimes it does seem as if our thoughts are all over the place.  Our Bible tells us this--

Php 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.

Truth, honesty, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, praiseworthy-these are the purposeful thoughts we are to fill our mind with.

So while we do have things pop into our minds, and oftentimes not very pleasant things, and while we do sometimes feel as if our minds are racing in a hundred different directions at once, when we are nudged by the Holy Spirit to remember this verse, we need to direct our thoughts away from what we might call 'bad' thoughts. We need to think on things that are true and by that we shouldn't think on things that are lies, or things that are unknown because if we dwell on the unknown we are dwelling on things we can't know are true or not.  For instance, if I start thinking about my future it is for the most part unknown- we are told this--

'Jas_4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. '

We don't even know if we will live to see tomorrow, yet this can't stop us from planning various things in our lives. If we all lived as if there were no tomorrow we wouldn't live very good lives. However we have to realize that beyond a certain point we must trust wholly in the Lord and not worry about our tomorrows. Easy to say, hard to do.

It is true that if I live until tomorrow that I might go shopping, I plan on going shopping to pick up a few things.  If I start thinking about the weather tomorrow I'm thinking about something I can't know for certain but I might believe a weather man telling me his predictions based on the science behind his profession. If I worry about tomorrow's unknowns I am not thinking on something that is true because the future is largely unknown and not full of facts, not full of truths. There are future truths and they are given to us by God through His Word.   Our Savior will return- this is a future truth I can think on, and should think on all the time. Our Savior took on flesh to reveal this truth fully to mankind.

More on all of this tomorrow, by the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, all in HIS LOVE!