Mind Games

Two of your closest friends are whispering to each other, glancing at you
every now and then, giggling. What thoughts enter your head? Does your mind
spin something negative without knowing the truth of the situation? Spoiler
alert: Your friends were actually planning a surprise birthday party for
you!

Over a few days, you send multiple texts to a family member and even try to
call them, but they never get back to you. Where does your mind go? Do you
spend the days anxiously wondering if something you did or said upset them,
only to discover their phone was acting up?

Our minds play games—and not always the fun kind. How can we rein in those
thoughts that whiz through our brains faster than the speed of light? If
you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you are a child of God, and you have the
Holy Spirit’s power in you to help you take your thoughts captive before
they start making destructive pathways in your brain. It won’t be easy
since our minds tend to drift toward the worst-case scenario, but with
God’s help we can “take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
In Colossians 3, Paul says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things” (verse 2). As followers of Jesus, we can practice thinking
differently than we did before Jesus was the Lord of our lives. Jesus died
for all our sins and rose again victorious; we have been raised with Him by
believing in His sacrifice. Therefore, Christ is our life (verse 3), and we
can practice dwelling on thought patterns consistent with our new self
(verse 10).

When our minds play games, Philippians 4 reminds us that we have God’s
peace to guard not only our hearts but also our minds in Christ Jesus
(verse 7). When thoughts enter, we have a choice to let them spread chaos
or to evaluate them before they marinate in our minds. Verse 8 is the
ultimate mind monitor: Is this thought true? Is this thought pure? Is this
thought lovely? Is it admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy? When troubling
thoughts threaten to take control of our minds, we can turn to Jesus and
behold Him—He is always true, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and
worthy of our praise. And His love for us is sure. • Savannah Coleman

• When our minds play games, how could it help to remember what Jesus has
done for us?

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 4:8 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Philippians 4:4-Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:1-Colossians 3:17; Philippians 4:8