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 4:8-9

It’s easy to get bogged down by the pressures and sorrows of daily life. It’s easy to think about what is discouraging and disappointing. It’s easy to fixate on what is painful or frustrating or half true.

Have you been there? Perhaps you find yourself trapped by tapes playing in your head that say things like, “You’re never going to be good enough. This hard situation will never get resolved. That person will never change and my struggle will always be this way.”

God knows that in a broken world it’s easy to think about the brokenness; in a sinful world it’s easy call out the sin, or give into it. But sin and brokenness are not the end of the story! We’ve got to live like it. This is why Scripture is clear that what we think about matters.

If you are lacking peace in your life today, it’s probably time to take a look at your thought life. What are you telling yourself? What messages from the world are you letting influence you? Are you spending time intentionally thinking about the things of God? Things that reflect His character and kingdom?

God has your best interest at heart. So He invites you to dwell on what is pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. He invites you to rest in His peace.