Post-Thanks

In his closing of his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul urges them to "Rejoice in the Lord always" (with a repetition for emphasis) (Php 4:4), to let their gentleness be known to all (Php 4:5), and to take their worries to God in prayer "with thanksgiving" (Php 4:6-7). Then he writes,

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" (Php 4:8)

We've just had our "annual thanks-giving" (which is good on the face but pitiful in terms of "in everything give thanks"). As it turns out, giving thanks is a fundamental problem if we don't do it, resulting in pointless thinking and foolish hearts (Rom 1:21). It would stand to reason, then, that giving thanks to God would produce the opposite -- fruitful thinking and wise hearts. These, in turn, would have a ripple effect in every aspect of life.

Let's tie these two together, then. If you made a practice of praying at all times including thanksgiving, and if you let your mind dwell on that list from Philippians 4:8, how would you be different? How would your life change? If you approached every day, every minute, from that perspective, how would life change? If in every circumstance, pleasant or unpleasant, you were praying, giving thanks, and dwelling on the true, the honorable, the right, and so on, how would you change? If your worries were given to God and your days were filled with thanks to God, can you imagine the alterations there would be in every corner of your life? What if we started that now?