Game Plan: The Philippians 4:8 Guide to Better Thinking
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2.See yourself, as God would look upon His creation. To write that it is only in your head is actually an insult and yet much of our actions and thinking is founded upon our inner image. Our thoughts and beliefs are strongly held convictions that we knowingly or ignorantly picked up along the path of life and now are part of who we are. The Game Plan is designed to steer you from the paradigm into freedom, the freedom God has already given us.
Learn to forgive yourself for mistakes, because we are not born as experts in everything. Sure, there are some people who appear naturally gifted in certain areas. However, their appearance of comfort is based on much experience and practice. We are going to fail, but it is after we fail that matters.
Proverbs 24:16 say, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
Even the righteous person fails repeatedly but they get back up. God loves us and wants us to go forward confidently in our journey, therefore, we should be careful not to place unrealistic expectations on ourselves.
3.Relax. Relaxing is an extremely difficult concept for people today to do on a regular basis. This is especially true of students in high school and college. A whole market has arisen out of helping students prepare for SAT and ACT exams as well as private institutions that will enable students to become math and science wizzes. Students abuse drugs like Adderall in order to gain clarity in order to achieve better grades so that they can land the dream job.
I enjoy playing Madden video games and it is a detail orientated game much like an actual NFL one. In the video at the start of the game they have the players warming up and you get to look around the stadium. You are introduced to the commentators of the game, Jim Nance and Phil Simms. The commentators have certain sayings for different plays that occur. One of the sayings of Phil Simms is that players need to relax because then they will play their best. His point is that if you are stressed, worried then you are preventing yourself from being at your peak.
This is why Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Peace and stress do not mix, much like oil and water. The more I take my requests to God through prayer the more that I am able to relax. This is what is meant by the cliché saying “Let go and Let God.” Essentially breathe and relax. Now it doesn’t mean that you won’t have to do the prepare to or take the test, but it does mean that if you relax and leave it up to God that you are able to do your best.
In Philippians 4:8 Paul tells us to think on these things and it is our thinking not our striving and struggling that affects our actions. Thinking creates our actions so therefore we create our stress and environment. A test at school is just a test, not the end of the world even though we may place a huge emphasis what the grade could lead to. However, our life is not doomed if we receive a “C” when we desperately needed an “A” in order to qualify at the college of our dreams. Or maybe we get passed over for a promotion at work when it was obvious how hard we worked putting in long hours. Maybe a presentation is on the horizon and we will soon be in front of many of the corporate elite going over the marketing plan for the year. Anxiety is a killer to us performing and being the best that God created us to be.
We are not slaves to our failures, but rather creators of what each of our days will be by choosing our thoughts.
If we study and prepare and pray then we can relax. Below are some exercises I use to free myself of anxiety. Remember that God has freed us and it is our choice to live free or live in the prison of our mind.
1.Practice mentally walking yourself through your day and envision yourself being successful in the best light. You are saying the correct words and gesturing at the appropriate times in conversations. This is highly valuable and important because the more you envision the images the more relaxed you will be when the time occurs. You will be stress-free because you already performed or took the test or connected with the person. You will just do what you already did earlier. The sacrifice of time in order for you to realize your visioning will be well worth the sleep you give up. For everything there is a price to be paid.
Often I will imagine people’s response when I speak on Sundays and like clock work I receive the reaction I sought. You might say, ‘Where is God in all of this?’ That is a good question. I ask for His help, but I also dutifully make sure I prepare for the moment.
Proverbs 21:31 says, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”
The victory is with the Lord, but we still must prepare for the battle. We should prepare for our days, in order to maximize our time on this earth. If I can witness myself doing an action and gaining a positive result then that will grant me the confidence to go and do my best for the Lord. If you doubt this practice then try it out, you have nothing to lose and much to gain.
2.Ask God for help and believe it to be true. God is good. He wants to give His children good things. Read Matthew 7:7-12 over again if you struggle with believing God to be good. God has your best interest at heart and if you were the only person in the world then Jesus still would have gone to the cross for you. He loves you that much.
If we doubt that God will answer then we will be like the double-minded man that James 1 speaks about. Trust Him. Know He has already answered you and proceed forward believing. This can be a struggle, because often we naturally compare our earthly father with our heavenly one. If you did not have a pleasant experience with your earthly father then it is easy to compare the two.
Therefore, I suggest that you write out a few scriptures that deal with the goodness of God. Keep those verses on hand at all times as a reminder yourself.
3.When a stressful situation does occur and you feel anxiety skyrocketing then pause. Take a deep breath. Think of a relaxing place like an island or a beach or a leisurely walk in a park on a sunny day and put yourself in there. This distraction enables you to release the stress, which causes anxiety.
Sure I feel my heart beat when I drive in a given situation, however, I defer my thoughts to pleasant things (Philippians 4:8). I no longer ponder the dread or give my time to thoughts of failure. It takes practice and I’ve had most of my life thinking in a certain way and now it will take work to get out of it. It will for you as well, but God can give you freedom.
Ultimately it was my choice to ponder what I did and it is your decision as well. We either control our thoughts or our thoughts control us.