Philippians 4:8,  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.  

There are so many things out there vying for your attention that you have to be intentional about what you allow to consume your thinking.  If you aren’t careful you can wake up one day and find that you are all wrapped up in something that you can do nothing about or something that really isn’t something you should be concerning yourself with.  If you are on social media you have probably been sent so many videos, memes, and articles that are politically driven that if you watched them all you could be a hot mess, consumed with fears and anxiety to the degree that you are no longer doing what God has called you to do.  We should be aware of what is going on in the world, but we should be consumed with what God has to say.  

What are you thinking about?  What thoughts plague your day?  We all have times when there’s something going on in life and it’s all we can do to keep our heads above water for all of the thoughts that keep running us over throughout the day.  It takes serious effort to ward off those thoughts some days, but we must not allow satan to consume us with lies and fears.  It is his desire to destroy you and to keep you from all God has for you.  How can you fight it?  With praise and worship music and the Word of God.  As you praise God, your faith in Him will grow.  Write down Bible verses that encourage you and carry them with you.  Remind yourself of verses like Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Write it down and carry it with you and any other verses that come to mind that encourage you and then when satan comes after you with all of his lies you can say with confidence, “not today, satan!”  Write out some affirmations and carry those with you as well.

We all know that our thoughts are powerful things!  What will you choose to focus on today?  It’s time to take all of those things that you are consumed with to God and ask Him to help you sort out what is yours to dwell on and what isn’t.  Ask Him to help you to give it all to Him.  I know personally how difficult this battle can be, but through praise, prayer, and spending time alone with God, we can overcome these attacks on our minds.  If you are consumed with fears ask God to help you trust Him knowing that nothing is too difficult for Him and whatever comes your way, He will help you through it.  Ask Him to make the path clear to you for the plans He has for your life.  God loves you and He wants to walk through this life closely with you and satan is doing everything he can to distract you from it by consuming your thoughts with things that God never intended to be your focus.  

So, today we will end with the same verse we started with:  Philippians 4:8,  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.  I would like to encourage you today to ask God to help you to keep your focus on Him and all that He wants to do in your life, trusting that then truly His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Evidence is conclusive that your self-talk has a direct bearing on your performance.”  ~ Zig Ziglar