(by pastor Jean)

Philippians 4:8 is too long to quote here but it basically tells us what to think about. The list includes things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and commendable. I think this would be great medicine for anyone with anxiety or any other mental health issues. Our minds can easily run off down the wrong path but it’s up to us to take control of our minds. Romans 12:2 says we are to renew our minds with the word of God and Paul also told the Ephesians to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph 4:23; MEV). This all takes effort and time on our part because the battlefield is in the mind; the devil loves bringing those lies into our mind and keeping us in mental anguish but we need to put satan in his place! When we are bombarded with anxious, troublesome thoughts we need to meditate on positive things instead as Phil 4:8 instructs. Meditating is something we are encouraged to do in the Bible (see Josh 1:8, Ps 1:2, Ps 119:27). Your mind will prefer to keep going down the negative path because that’s the road of least resistance but we have to keep bringing it back to the word. The Bible calls it “taking our thoughts captive” (see 2 Cor 10:3-5). That takes a lot of diligence but it is worth the effort. So, keep taking those negative thoughts captive, keep replacing them with those Bible verses and keep rehearsing them. This does not come naturally but with God’s help we can do it and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.