ByThoughts govern our day-to-day living. Even if we don’t think before doing something, there are preconceived thoughts that power out activities unconsciously. Therefore, God knowing how powerful the mind is never stops working on His people’s minds to think like Him. And I must say that that is one of the main reasons why He makes sure His Word gets preached every day.
Today, I want to teach eight characteristics of godly thoughts from Philippians 4:8. And knowing them will help you distinguish which thoughts that come up in your mind are of God, of yourself or the devil. But before that, take a read of the scripture.
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)
So in this verse, Paul states eight features of the kinds of thoughts that should predominate the believer’s mind. I’m taking them one by one.
1. True
One characteristic of every godly thought is the truth embedded in it. Is what you’re thinking true by God’s standards or your own standards? This question ought to be taken into much consideration because the Bible speaks of the devil transforming himself into an angel of light (see 2 Corinthians 11:14). So he can suggest a thought in your mind which will appear appealing within you and can probably yield great results when you submit to it in action.
However, you’ve got to be discerning. Because as far as God is concerned, it takes spiritual discernment through the use of spiritual senses to distinguish between good and evil (see Hebrews 5:14).
Always remember that a half-truth is a lie. Therefore any thought that isn’t entirely true, after screening it through the lens of God’s Word, doesn’t require your wholesome time to meditate on it.
2. Noble (Honest)
The second characteristic of godly thoughts is their nobility. Some versions, such as the King James Version, translate the word “noble” as “honest.” These two have the same meaning in the Biblical transliteration.
Do your thoughts carry nobility in them? Are they honest before God? Do they only have good motives towards others? These are self-examination questions, and nobody can ever answer them for you except you.
A godly thought carries reverence in it. And it should be so much that it’ll help you have good self-esteem about your identity in the Lord, whether man applauds you for it or not.
Nobody can read your thoughts except God. So make God proud of you by thinking and meditating about reputable things pertaining to (eternal) life and godliness.
Tweet
3. Just
Thirdly, godly thoughts are just. In other words, they’re observative of the law of the Spirit – the Word. They submit to the principles of God despite the changing nature of this world. Why? Because Jesus, who’s responsible for feeding your mind with such thoughts, never changes (see Hebrews 13:8). He’s still righteous and wants us to live right before Him.
4. Pure
Fourthly, a godly thought acceptable for you to meditate on is pure. In other words, it doesn’t have any trace of evil associated with it.
Some people can approach you with the sole intention of helping you. But they have an evil thought behind their actions today that they plan to manifest after you’ve received such help from them. For example, a colleague can promise you a job offer from a company his friend works at but has an agenda to make his friend charge you for that offer. You see, if you’re not spiritually discerning, you will fall into that trap flat.
We live in an evil age (see Galatians 1:4). So nothing good happens by automation. That is why God wants to distinguish you from the chaos out there. Irrespective of how ungodly and evil the people surrounding your life think and talk, make it a personal priority to stand for kingdom purity. For God has a reward for you in future for doing that.
Irrespective of how ungodly and evil the people surrounding your life think and talk, make it a personal priority to stand for kingdom purity. For God has a reward for you in future for doing that.
Tweet
5. Lovely
Lovely thoughts are godly thoughts, not evil. But be careful of how you define love because God is love (see 1 John 4:8), not your feelings, affection or predominant thoughts about someone you share your life with.
A desire for sex may be lovely but unacceptable in the period of dating. Lovely godly thoughts submit to God’s principles in every life endeavour.
6. Good report
Another characteristic of godly thoughts is that it is of good report. That implies that suppose people speak of them, they are reputable.
Nobody can read your thoughts except God. So make God proud of you by thinking and meditating about reputable things pertaining to (eternal) life and godliness. To do this well, be an ardent student of the Bible.
Never be so enthused with what’s ahead of you that you forget to praise the One who’s leading you there.
7. Virtuous
Godly thoughts carry virtue. And virtue is the backbone of moral excellence and modesty.
You cannot behave well until you think like Jesus. So to live like Jesus, you must practise what He did to get such results – such as extended prayer time alone in God’s presence, extending deliverance to the oppressed by the anointing (see Acts 10:28) and walking in holiness unto the Lord. All these are possibilities in God’s kingdom.
8. Praiseworthy
Lastly, godly thoughts carry elements of praise to the Lord. And every praiseful thought in Christ also has a factor of gratitude attached to it.
Are you grateful for how far God has brought you, despite the afflictions in life you’ve gone through? Friend, never be so enthused with what’s ahead of you that you forget to praise the One who’s leading you there.
