Philippians 4:8 “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.”

Every person deals with occasional thought struggles. Sometimes the negative narrations and related feelings develop because of past experiences. Other times they appear after an uncomfortable encounter with a critical person. And still others are downright lies of Satan trying to discourage and bring you down. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could unsubscribe to all these unwanted thoughts? 

The other day while scrolling through all my emails I decided it was time to eliminate all the dross. I don’t know how every company on the face of the earth found my email, but they did! And they continually bombard me with advertisements and information I don’t want or need. So, I took the bull by the horns and began to unsubscribe to the junk mail one by one. Maybe, just maybe, they will finally get the hint and stop sending me their annoying messages.

Just like unwanted email, negative thoughts come from various places and tend to clog our minds at the most inconvenient times. And when we are not careful, they can bring us to the brink of discouragement and despair. If only there was an easy way to stop the messages that disrupt our thought life! 

Unkind words & criticism – Unsubscribe!

Snide Remarks – Unsubscribe!

Doubt and Fear – Unsubscribe!

Ungratefulness – Unsubscribe!

While it’s impossible to completely stop these pesky snippets from showing up in our mind’s inbox, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church tells us how to overcome them. It is by putting our focus elsewhere. Delete the harmful by dwelling on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and excellent. These thoughts strengthen the heart and mind while lies and negativity only burden. 

I know that tomorrow my email account will hold more unwanted messages. No matter how many times I unsubscribe they will keep showing up. But that doesn’t mean I have to leave them in my inbox. In the same way we must regularly delete and send any unwanted thoughts to the trash. Replace them with the messages that will bring life to the soul. Whatever is good, right, and true – think on these things!