Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of May 22, 2022

Weekly reading: Philippians 4; Exodus 37-40; Psalm 117-118
passages referenced: Psalm 117; Psalm 118; 2 Corinthians 10:5; philippians 4:6-9

As my time on staff here at WCC comes to a close this week, it feels fitting that my last opportunity to share something with you would cover Philippians 4. There’s maybe no other passage of scripture I think of or recommend more than Philippians 4:6-9.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:6-9

As someone who struggles with anxiety, this passage is the reminder that I need in times when my thinking starts to spin out of control. It helps me recenter and shift my thoughts. It causes me to think beyond my current situation and anxiety and focus on God’s goodness – to me and throughout scripture.

We see great examples of this practice of thinking about good things many times throughout the Psalms, including in this week’s reading:

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. – Psalm 117:1-2

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper… The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation… You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. – Psalm 118:1-7, 14, 28-29

As I wrote earlier, there might not be another passage I’ve focused on more than this one. I mostly go to it when I’m feeling anxious, but it is a good reminder for whenever I’m dealing with negative thinking. Because it is a favorite, I was curious to see if I’d written anything about it in previous devotionals. I had. Multiple times. Here’s some of what I wrote for a Making the Connection in January of 2015:

We are really good at being bad. We worry about things beyond our control, are anxious about the future, and fill our minds with negative thoughts about ourselves and what God and others must think of us.

You sounded so stupid when…
Sure, the doctor said… but what about…?
How could anybody actually love a person like you, who…?
God is probably really disappointed in how you…
What if…?

We really need to cut it out. It’s not healthy. It’s toxic to our emotional wellbeing, physical health, relationships with others, and relationship with God. But cutting out all the negative thoughts is more difficult than it sounds. If it were easy, we wouldn’t struggle with this so much.

Here’s the thing, we’re not going to change overnight. This change will take time. This change is about taking baby steps and trusting God because He is with us in this struggle. He has given us the power to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We need to trust Him, and we need to heed the truth of Paul’s message to the believers in Philippi:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:6-9

Paul doesn’t say, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is false, whatever is dishonorable, whatever is wrong, whatever is impure, whatever is awful, whatever is shameful—if anything is terrible or lousy—think about such things.”No, we are called to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We need to stop thinking about all the “what ifs” and the ways we think we don’t measure us. We need to start thinking about the good things of God. This transformation of our thoughts will take time and work. It will be hard. But it will be worth it in the end.

I don’t think I need to add anything else to what past me said. But I would just like to add a bit of a goodbye if that’s alright. It has been such an honor and privilege to serve at WCC for the past 13 years. I’m so thankful for the small part I’ve been blessed to play in the growth and life change of so many. I pray that God will continue to grow, mature, and use you in ways you never expected, as individuals and together as a body. – Sarah Neel