You may have seen the meme (sign) that says “Keep Calm and Carry On”.
What does that mean?
Anxiety is real… but we don’t have to be enslaved by it. In fact, Paul tells us that we can be “Anxious for Nothing”. And part of his advice is to win the battle of the mind.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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. —Philippians 4:4-8
In verse 8, Paul sums up the battle with anxiety as being a battle in the mind. … In fact, the biggest challenge to finding freedom is often changing the way we think about the challenge. And mindfulness is the key.
1 - I can
The only reason this is true is because God enables us.
Read Ephesians 4:17-23 and Romans 12:2.
How does God enable us to think differently?
2 - I can
All-too-often, Satan takes our thoughts captive and we don’t recognize it because it seems so normal. But when the Holy Spirit enters our minds… he gives us the power to start thinking about what we are thinking about.
What Holy Spirit guided questions (or filters) should we ask of our thoughts?
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
What does it mean to “take every thought captive”?
3 - I can
It is not enough just to erase unhealthy thoughts… You must replace unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones. Or to put it another way… you can fix what you fixate on.
Read Philippians 4:8 again.
What do you notice about this list of things to “think about”?
We have got to be mindful about what fills our mind… so how are you going to be mindful this week?