Wisdom in Thinking

There are times in our lives when a single fleeting thought can shake us to our core. Our child wanders off and we immediately think about what would happen if they've been kidnapped. Our spouse is 10 minutes late home from work and we begin to think about how we'll react when we hear the news of the accident they've been in. Or our Doctor calls with our test results and leaves a vague message and we are sure that he is going to tell us the worst. We tell ourselves not to worry, after all worry is a sin, right? We are just preparing ourselves just in case. Instead of spending our time allowing our worries to guide us, we need to remember what the Bible tells us.

In Philippians 4:8, we're told, "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." So applying this verse will help you when you're tempted to let your mind wander in a direction that will lead to worry.

First, ask yourself, "Is what I'm thinking about true? Are there facts to back up my concern?" Yes, your spouse is 10 minutes late, but is there traffic or did they get held up at the office? What are the facts? It's easy to get caught up in the what if's and a lot harder to stop once that train of thought has started. So stop at the first thought and ask, "Is what I'm thinking true?" If it's not, stop. And pray that God will take the thoughts away.

Second, replace the thoughts that lead to worry with those that are noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. In 2007, I was sent to have a biopsy of a lump that was found in my breast. The time between the mammogram and the biopsy was about a week, but it felt like it was forever. I found myself overwhelmed with thoughts of what I would do if I had cancer. How would I continue to be a foster mom to our baby girl? Who would come to help me? Where would I need to go to seek treatment? All of these questions swirled around my head. The day after being told I would need a biopsy a nurse from my doctors office called me. She told me that most of the time lumps turn out to be nothing more than a cyst. She said that I needed make sure I didn't worry about this. She also reminded me of this verse. She said, "Right now, what we know to be true is enough to pray about." She also reminded me that I needed to fill my thoughts with my husband, daughter, those who loved me, but mostly of God. He is noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.

I would like to say that her pep talk was all I needed to overcome the worry I had at the time. It helped and when I caught myself, I was able to remind myself of what I needed to fill my thoughts with. The lump turned out to be a cyst, just as she said. Since that time I have had other times when I have had to choose to think on what was true. And given the choice to change my thought pattern. It has not been easy, but I have found that during times of worry I can do what 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." It is not easy to do. But a person of wisdom knows that right thinking can reduce our worries and fears.