“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”  (NLT)

I grabbed my Bible, journal, and pen and walked out of my church office. It had been a rough season of ministry and I was feeling burned out and anxious about all the unknowns. As I struggled with balancing ministry, education, and family life, I was feeling unsupported and even attacked by some of the church leadership. I was struggling to hear God’s voice. I was letting fear speak into my life. On this particular morning, our church staff had a planning meeting that lasted several hours. I was having trouble focusing. Finally, I heard a small still voice speaking to me saying, “David, I want you to leave and come find Me.” Obliged by my workload, I remember answering, “I can’t. I have too much work to do.” However, the Lord ignored my answer and whispered once again the exact same phrase. So, when the meeting was over, I headed out. I didn’t know where I was going. I just let the Lord lead me. I ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stopping at a random trailhead, I got out of the car and started walking, even though I didn’t know where it would lead me. After a while of hiking in silence, I came to an old tree. It was a mysterious sight to behold. One side of the tree had been struck by lightning. It was dead and burnt. Yet, on the other side of the tree, there was life. Branches were budding. It was beautiful. I sat down next to that tree and opened my Bible.

The scriptures fell open to Philippians 4. I began reading this passage with new eyes. Be thankful and dwell upon the good. As the New Living Translation expresses it, “’Fix’ your thoughts on what it true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.” My spirit was being challenged. Fear had led me to focus on the negative things in my life. I had fixed my thoughts on how others were treating me, as well as the mistakes I had made. God was bringing light into my soul, reminding me to focus on the greater truth, that in every situation or circumstance we find ourselves in, there is always something good. The half dead tree, for example, became a beautiful illustration of this. If I were to only look at the side of the tree that had been burned up, I would have only seen the things about the tree that were dead. I would never have known that on the other side of the same tree, God had not only preserved it, but had given it new life so it could flourish. Sometimes, in the midst of our situation, it is difficult to step back, to change our perspective so we can see the positive. This passage is a strong rebuke against fear and worry. It is a call to arms to bring what is on our hearts to God in prayer. It’s a bold statement about the power of dwelling on the good and positive things which God gives to us. However, this is not a scripture about the power of positive thinking. No! It is rather a passage about right thinking.  

Changing our perspective to positive thinking is very important. Letting our minds rest upon those things which bring joy, as well as the things that are going well for us, is a powerful tool for praise. When we dwell upon the good, a spirit of thankfulness takes root and grows within us. Gratefulness demonstrates a life of surrender and recognition of the goodness of God already at work in our life. It is a declaration that, while we may not have everything we have asked for, we value that which God has currently blessed us with. When we can live and walk daily in submissive gratitude then, scriptures announce, we will experience a peace from God which supersedes anything we can understand. Remembering the Goodness of God and dwelling upon His blessings are just first part in what it means to have right thinking.

The second part of right thinking takes more than just a perspective change. This is where I want to take a deep dive into the meaning of the word “fix.” There is a unique duality here. On one hand, the word “fix” can simply mean to dwell or focus upon. On the other hand, the word “fix” can also mean to repair, mend, correct, or modify. Correct thinking is a common theme throughout scripture. In fact, it’s more in line with other biblical texts than the idea of positive thinking. For example, consider these following passages: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22); “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things” (Proverbs 15:28); “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2); “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This renewing doesn’t just happen because you are suddenly thinking happy thoughts. Rather, as Paul instructs us in Philippians 4:9, to correct our thinking, we must put into practice the truth of God’s word. Putting into practice, however, takes hard work, diligence, and courage. The bible tells us to be bold and courageous (Joshua 1:9, to name one example). Fixing – or correcting – our thoughts to reflect right thinking means we have be bold and courageous in how we process our thought life. Do we take note of our thoughts and line them up with scripture? Do we allow the scriptures to inform and challenge what we are thinking? Are we willing to put into practice the truth we encounter in God’s word? As beloved children of God, we can’t allow ourselves to stop at mere positive thinking. We must go beyond that – we must allow truth to correct our thinking, and in so doing, correct our choices, behaviors, and beliefs.

Simply put, rather than thinking about doing the bad thing of which I am tempted to do, I will correct my thoughts to do the good thing God is calling me to do. When I correct my thinking, through the renewing of my mind on the Word of God, the mind of Christ, then I will be able to do the positive – I will be able to do, not just think about. I will be able to do whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Putting into practice, through correct thinking, also diminishes the fear of the negative things, which cause us to worry and be anxious.

Let’s go back to the illustration of the tree again. The tree put into practice the basic fundamental things it needed to do in order to not just survive, but to flourish on the side that was still alive. You and I, no matter what our past has been or what our current circumstances are, have the opportunity to put into practice the fundamental truths God speaks over us in order to flourish. However, we have to do the hard work of putting it into practice.

So, brothers and sisters, let us FIX our thoughts upon Him Who is worthy and Who is able to give us the power to think correctly.