Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9
What you feed (think on) grows in your thought life. What you starve (do not think on) dies. Why is that? Because the human heart is an incubator. Whatever you put in it and keep in it grows. Paul knew that “thinking on something specific” would yield a specific fruit in our lives. If you are feeling one way and want to feel another, you must begin by changing your thoughts.
You must pick a track for your mind to run on to keep it focused. The most important quality that differentiates someone successful from someone who is not is how they think. Paul was a disciplined thinker and advised us on what to think on when it comes to our spiritual life. His advice can be applied to the practical task of creating deliberate outcomes in our lives. Here are a few productive subjects by way of example you can focus your mind on:
PROSPECTING: If you set your mind to look for opportunity all the time, you will see ideas begin to emerge everywhere. This is how one leverages their God-given reticular activator, the focus center of the brain.
SERVING: If your focus is set on ways to serve and exceed people’s expectations, you will find opportunities all around you.
WISDOM: If you program your mindset to think more in questions than in statements, your thought life will become Socratic.
REFLECT TO CONNECT
- What is your mental strategy for what you will think on today?
- If you were to inventory your thoughts, what would you discover?
- What can you co-create with God today by focusing your thought life?
Successful people “reprogram” their minds to think successfully by renewing their thought life to see life through the eyes of Scripture. That’s a God Mindset.
