There is an interesting statement in Romans 11:36 which says, “Everything… is intended for His glory” (NLT), including your anxieties, fears, worries, and doubts. During a moment or season of anxiety is when God can do some deep work within you. It will be uncomfortable. You will not like it. You will resist it. But it’s there in the depth of your pain, your loneliness, your fear, your shame and your worry that God can do something inside you that He will not do in any other way. Let God use your anxiety to help you evaluate yourself and to draw closer to Him. Everything… is intended for God’s glory. Don’t waste your anxiety, learn from it and grow from it.

A few years ago, I had an MRI done on my shoulder. They put me on this table/bed thing and then rolled me in. It’s like being in a tube or coffin. Everything is close to you. When they rolled me in, I immediately began to feel my heartrate increase and my breathing increased and a sense of panic start rising up in me. My anxiety was about to go through the roof. Up to this point I had never experienced claustrophobia or had a panic attack. At first I wasn’t sure what was happening. This all happened immediately, by the time the tech got back to the control station and asked, “Everything ok and are you ready to do it?” I said, “Something is going on here and I need to come out for a moment.” So, they take me out and me and the tech had a discussion about what I was feeling and why. We talked through what was happening. I eventually said, “I think its my shoulders touching the side of the machine and it makes me feel claustrophobic.” He said, “Let’s try this, put your good shoulder arm behind your head and let’s move over just a bit.” We did that, rolled me in, and had no problems. Got the MRI done and moved on.

That is how anxiety works. It shows up when you least expect it, it may not make sense at first, and you may need to withdraw from the situation and think through it. Talk with someone else to help you think about what is going on and what is the solution. Regardless of the situation, when you are wrestling with your anxiety you are battling something that is going on in your mind. This is what we are talking about today and what God has to say about it.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 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. 9 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 4:5-9, NASB)

My goal today is to begin to help us understand what God wants us to think about in the context of dealing with anxiety, specifically your anxiety. So let’s dive into God’s Word and see what God has for us today.

Think about these things

At the end of verse 8 we are told to think about these things. Let’s make sure we understand what we are being told here.

Think

We are told to think. The word think (logizomai) comes from accounting. It has the picture of taking all the virtues (lovely, pure, excellence, etc.) and putting them into the calculator of your brain and coming to a conclusion and letting that affect your life.

The word think also means to dwell, focus, consider, and evaluate something. This means you will evaluate what you are anxious about, nervous or afraid of what might happen through the filters of what’s true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. You are going to think about what you are anxious through those filters. This is going to be difficult. Your mind, body, and emotions want to follow the pull of anxiety, it wants to be control by what you are afraid of or worried about what might happen. You will have to renew your mind and take every thought captive. This is a battle over your mind and it will not be easy, but you can do this with God’s help.

Let me give you some ways you can think about this.

  • Those eight virtues in verse 8 are like vitamins for your mind. They help produce mental health. Once your mind starts getting a regular dose of these things your mind begins to think better and healthier and more spiritual.
  • Those eight virtues also act as a security guard for your mind. If you have traveled through an airport you have to go through a security gate that has sensors on it. And there are certain things that are contraband and unwanted items they will not let through for safety reasons. When the scanner goes off they search your luggage or person in order to find it and remove it. These virtues act like that scanner and guard, preventing unwanted and unsafe thoughts into your life or at least keeping it to a minimum.
  • One more way to look at this. Good thoughts produce good fruit, bad thoughts produce bad fruit and you are the gardener of your own mind. You want to produce thoughts and a life that are lovely, pure, honorable and excellent. You will have weeds in your garden, but they are not the dominate growth in your mind.

Here is what we are going to try to do. We are going to learn how to do 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says, “We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NASB). We are going to learn to think how God wants us to think. If you begin thinking on the things God wants you to think about, your life will change. You will see everyone and everything in your life differently. This is why God says in Romans 12:2, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

On These Things

How are we to think? What are we to think. Philippians 4:8 says, “Think about these things.” What are “these things”? God gives us eight things, eight filters, eight subjects that should dominate our thinking regardless of what is on our mind. God has given us eight virtues that should direct our thoughts. Let’s take a look at each one and think about how they protect your heart and mind and help you experience the peace of God.  

Whatever is true

The first mental filter God mentions is whatever is true. God is saying, “I want you to think about what is true, factual, correct, accurate, and real.” Don’t let your mind focus on assumptions, untrustworthy information, or what you can imagine. The word true covers all truth.

There are two types of true: scriptural truth and situational truth.

  • Scriptural truth. This truth is found in the Word of God. Whatever God says in the Bible is true.
    • Whenever God says something about heaven, that’s true.
    • When God says something about hell, that’s true.
    • Whatever God says about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church, or the second coming, it’s all true.
    • Whatever God says about marriage, relationships, finances, parenting, or being single, it’s all true.
    • When God’s Word talks about creation, sin, or salvation, it’s all true.
    • Whatever God says about peace, anxiety, and our minds and thoughts, it’s all true.
    • Whatever God says about you is true. You are who God says you are. You can do what God says you can do, and you have what God says you have. It’s all true.
    • As a follower of Jesus, God’s says you are forgiven, that’s true. You are more than a conqueror, that’s true. God says you are a masterpiece, that’s true. God says you are valuable, significant, loved, and wanted, all that’s true.
    • God says you have meaning, purpose, and are useful, all that’s true.

By hearing this for one minute, has something happened in your heart. Do you feel more confident and loved? If you didn’t really believe it, did it give you some hope that it might be true? My point is this, what if you were in God’s Word on a daily basis receiving His truth, believing it, accepting it and letting it transform how you think about you and everything else. God’s Word says think about whatever is true. You are going to learn how to think about what God’s Word says is true about your life and anxieties and everything else you will begin to see your world the way should see it.

  • Situation truth. This is facts regarding a situation in your life. For example, a few weeks ago I was struggling with something. So I got with two of my friends, told them what was going on with them and I asked them to help me to think through some things. Somewhere in there, one of them said, “What do we actually know? What are the facts?” He then began to roll out what was true, what we actually knew versus what we didn’t know or what we were assuming. As soon as he did that, I immediately began to think clearly and see clearly some things I couldn’t see before.

One of the reasons why some people struggle with anxieties is because of instead of thinking on what is true, they assume, they imagine, they don’t check the facts, they don’t ask and answer the hard questions.

Jesus says something that is packed with meaning in regards to truth. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32, ESV). There is something about truth that brings freedom. Anxiety and worry and fears can cause you to feel mentally and emotionally trapped. When your mind is consumed with truth then you are able to see what is accurate, real, and authentic.

whatever is honorable

Not only are we to think about whatever is true, but whatever is honorable. The word honorable (semnos) means worthy of respect or entitled to honor. It is that which inspires reverence or awe. It combines both respect and dignity. It means to be worthy of being lifted high and put on display.

This is a difficult word to translate and to capture its meaning. It describes a person who moves through the world as if the world was the temple of God. Everything is sacred and special to this person. Every person, every relationship, and every activity as a divine purpose behind it and because of this, this person treats everyone and every situation with honor and dignity.

There are many things that are not honorable, and Christians should not think about these things. This does not mean we hide our heads in the sand and avoid what is unpleasant and displeasing, but it does mean we do not focus our attention on dishonorable things and permit them to control our mind.

There is something about having a mind of honor that protects your heart from experiencing the thoughts that are shameful, twisted, foolish, or perverted. A mind that thinks with honor responds to people and situations differently.

I want you to hear what God says about thinking with a mind of honor and how that plays out into your life.

  • Listen to Romans 12:17 which says, “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable” (NLT). When someone treats you in an evil way, if you don’t have a mind of honor you will repay them with more evil. If they hurt you, you will hurt them worse. If they say something mean you will say something more mean. A person whose mind thinks about what is honorable will respond with dignity even when someone has tried to disrespect them or hurt them in some way.
  • Now listen to 2 Corinthians 8:21 which says, “We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable” (NLT). When you live your life through the mindset of honor you are going to want everything you say and everything you do to honor the Lord. It’s also important that others see that you are an honorable person. You treat God and people with dignity. When you are a person who thinks about whatever is honorable you will treat God, others, and you with respect.
  • One more, listen to this. God’s Word says in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work” (NLT). Let me tell you what some of you think you just heard. Your thoughts immediately went to this, “I’m not pure, I’ve made to many mistakes and I can never be a special utensil for honorable use by God. And my life is definitely not clean and God can’t and will not use me.” But that’s not what it says. Let me read it again, “If you keep yourself pure [starting now], you will be a special utensil for honorableuse. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work” (NLT).

Conclusion

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks within himself, so he is” (HCSB).

  • Here is what’s going to happen. When you start thinking about whatever is true you will become more trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. Your life will be built on truth rather than assumptions, imagination, and lies.
  • Here is what’s going to happen. When you start thinking about whatever is honorable you will become a person of dignity and respect. Not only that, you will bring dignity and respect to others by the way you talk to them and treat them.

If you were to do just those two (whatever is true and whatever is honorable) you will be way ahead of the crowd. As a follower of Jesus, think on these things.