Plan Your Thoughts to Gain Peace.

Taking a walk is a good way to relieve stress, get exercise, and think things over. I’ve written several posts over the last couple of years based on photos I’ve taken while on walks. Here’s the thing about walks. You can either plan them or take them as they come.

Today’s image was shot while on one of my “take them as they come” walks. I remember leaving the office after a quick lunch and thinking, “I’m going to head in this general direction.” No destination in mind. No phone map. No plan.

I don’t remember, but likely I had earbuds in listening to either music or a podcast. If this walk was like many, I partially paid attention to where I was going, but focused more on what was in my ears. I do remember looking up and upon seeing the path ahead of me, thinking, “How did this happen?”

You may have to look back at the photo to see what I mean. The sidewalk leads directly to a concrete median that stops in the middle of an intersection.

To not find myself in that situation, I should have planned my walk.

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Our thought choices can be like the difference between taking a planned walk and a “take them as they come” walk.

Paul tells us in Philippians to plan our thoughts.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9, NASB)

Paul is specifically encouraging early believers in the area of anxiousness. He tells them (and us) that we should focus our thoughts on the things of God.

Why?

Because we have hope instead of anxiousness when we replace worldly thoughts with godly thoughts. We are bombarded with negative information from all sources. Television shows, social media posts, and news outlets are but a small source of negativity.

We can take our thoughts as they come, or we can plan our thoughts and focus on the things of God.

Paul’s positive outlook on our thoughts implies that if we do the opposite, we will experience the opposite. If we remain unfocused and our thoughts are influenced by what the world gives us, we will be anxious and full of worry.

My prayer is that you plan your thoughts to gain peace. Think on the things of God.

I’d love to hear from you. What do you do to plan your thoughts?

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.