What Are You Feeding Your Mind?

After praying about my concerns during COVID-19, my mind quickly returned to them. Prayer brought relief, but another report, social media post, or unanswered question could cause worry to rise again. Many of us were glued to the television because conditions changed quickly. We wanted to know what to do. Yet constant reports, opinions, and frightening possibilities left little room for peace.

I realized that I had to minimize television and social media to guard my mind. Staying informed mattered, but constant exposure was not keeping me spiritually grounded. Even after the screen was off, the words and images continued in my thoughts. I made a deliberate choice to step away, return to God’s Word, and give His truth more attention than the voices feeding my fear.

Paul understood that peace requires more than a moment of prayer. After telling us to bring everything to God, he teaches us how to direct our thoughts: “Whatsoever things are true…think on these things.” This is not simply positive thinking. Paul is not asking us to ignore painful realities or pretend difficult situations do not exist. He is teaching us not to let fear, assumptions, and negativity become the only things occupying our minds.

I have learned that a thought can enter my mind without deserving permission to remain. Just because I think something does not make it true. Fear may tell me the worst will happen. Discouragement may tell me nothing will change. Philippians 4:8 invites me to examine those thoughts before accepting them. Is this thought true, or is it based on fear? Is it honorable and just? Does it lead me toward love and grace, or toward anger and suspicion? Is it worthy of praise?

During COVID-19, thinking about what was true meant remembering that God was still present. Thinking about what was lovely meant noticing the kindness people extended to one another. Thinking about what was praiseworthy meant recalling answered prayers and the ways God continued providing. The trouble was real, but it was not the only truth.

Paul continues in verse 9 by telling believers to practice what they had learned. Our thoughts and actions are connected. What we repeatedly think about eventually influences how we speak, respond, and treat others.

What have you been feeding your mind lately? Consider the programs, posts, conversations, and thoughts receiving most of your attention. Are they helping you remain grounded in truth, or are they quietly increasing your fear?

You may not prevent every troubling thought from entering, but you can decide whether to feed it. Set healthy limits. Step away when necessary. Replace fearful assumptions with what God has said, and give truth more room than fear.

Guarding your mind sometimes requires turning down the voices around you so you can hear God’s truth within you. As God renews our thinking, He teaches us to remain steady through abundance and need. Tomorrow, for Grace at Week’s End, we will discover what Paul meant when he said, “I can do all things through Christ.”

Pearl's Prayer:

Father, help me recognize what is shaping my thoughts. Give me wisdom to know when to turn away from voices that increase fear. Teach me to fill my mind with what is true, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise. Let Your truth guide my thoughts, words, and actions. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I Am The Vessel, God Is The Grace