What do you keep?
Today’s Verse
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. ‘
Philippians 4:8
Note:
This is an old entry, but it speaks to our identity. As the beloved children of God, what do we spend our time thinking about? Our thoughts shape much of who we believe that we are. God is reminding us to retrain our brains to think about the things listed in this verse.
Devotional
Picture a conveyor belt moving in front of you with small rocks on it. The rocks just keep moving by. Some are pretty. Some are rough and ugly. Some are plain and nondescript. And they just keep going by you, in what seems like an endless procession.
Now you have some decisions to make. You are allowed to pick up and keep a few of these stones. You may only keep a few, as many as you can hold in your hands. You have no bag, no pockets, nowhere to keep your chosen rocks except in your hands.
So you began to look at the conveyor belt with a little more interest. Which rocks do you choose? Naturally, you are drawn to the ones in which you find some beauty. Maybe there is one that is shiny. Maybe one is colorful. Maybe one is so perfectly smooth that it draws your attention. You get to pick. And only your impression of beauty matters here. There is no one around to tell you that you made a bad choice.
Somehow, though, the ugly stones draw your attention. There are ones that are badly misshapen. Some are rough and irritate your skin as they go by. Some are jagged and actually painful to touch.
You must choose which stones to keep. Which ones will it be?
It makes obvious sense that you would choose beautiful or special stones in this scenario. But is that what we really do?
The conveyor belt is your life. The stones are the events of your day, both your actions and your thoughts. Which ones do you keep and look at again?
When you get to the end of your day, what do you remember about the day? The beautiful things or the ugly, irritating and painful things? To which do you cling?
Both the bad stones and the beautiful stones are naturally part of every person’s life. My belief is that each person’s outlook on life is based on which stones he keeps.
Today, I will choose to keep only beautiful stones. As the ugly stones come by, I will acknowledge them and let them go. I will not keep them. I will not let them define me. I will not allow them to shape my attitude.
What I behold is what I become. Today I will choose to look at the beauty in this world and in my life and allow that to become my focus. Perhaps my thoughts about such things will help to shape my God-given identity.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
When you get to the end of your day, what do you remember about your day?
How can you choose to focus on and remember the beautiful things about each day?
Look today for things that are true, honorable, right, pure, admirable, lovely and praiseworthy. Write them down.
How does choosing what you remember affect your outlook?
Make a notecard and carry it with you for a few days. Write down “true, honorable, right, pure, admirable, lovely and praiseworthy” and maybe an example for each one. Throughout the day, think about these things as an act of obedience.