DAY 4 | Faith Hacks

What You Focus On Grows

Have you ever had that experience where you decide you are going to get a specific kind of car and then you see it everywhere? You had never noticed a blue Subaru Outback but suddenly now that it's on your mind, you see it EVERYWHERE. You have it in your mind and now everything around you can begin to trigger your thoughts back to that car. I think this is just human nature and how our brains work but what if we harness this natural way our brains process and use it to help us keep our minds on the right things? You may have also experienced having a bad day and then EVERYTHING seems to be going wrong. You're hitting all the red lights and driving behind those 5 under the speed limit people. The thing is, these same things could have happened on a good day and not really bothered you, but because you are already focused on the bad day, you're having this just amplifies what you are already thinking about.

Philippians 4:8 says "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

In this scripture Paul is encouraging us regarding what we should be meditating on… whatever is pure, whatever is worthy of praise, whatever is true. And so on. When we make a habit of focusing in on these things, we are in tune to see more of the things that are pure, worthy of praise and true. What would happen if you started thinking about these things daily… maybe you would look around and see more things worthy of praise, more things that are honorable, more things that are within the heart of God. This simple practice of setting your mind on the right things can change your whole outlook for the day because after all, what you focus on grows.

Prayer

God, would you help us today to focus on your truth. Help us to see things that are worthy of praise and let that be the filter in which we go about life. Focusing in on your goodness and trusting you to take care of the rest. Your word says "you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you" help us to keep our minds stayed on you so that we can walk in your peace. In Jesus name, amen.

Reflection

Do you want to change some of your thought patterns? What are some "Philippians 4:8" things you can think about today? How can you make a daily habit of setting your mind on these things?