“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, NIV). This is the verse that Nick Vujicic has clung to! Born with no arms or legs, he certainly has reason to fret about life. Most people would simply compare themselves with others, see that the deck was stacked against them, and settle into a life where the expectation was that everyone would just take care of them. But not Nick. If you haven’t heard of him before, look him up and allow his story to inspire you.
You probably already know this, but in case you don’t, I’m so thrilled to give you the good news: You can pick what you ponder. You didn’t select your birthplace, birthday, parents, or siblings. (In Nick’s case, he didn’t get to choose whether or not he was born with arms and legs). You don’t determine the weather or amount of salt in the ocean. You didn’t know a worldwide virus was coming, nor could you have stopped it if you had. While there are so many things you have no choice about, the greatest activity of life is well within your domain. You can choose what you think about. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts can run your life” (NCV). How can you be successful at this, taking every thought captive in the moment?
Think about what you think about. Go over your day each night. What did you spend time on? What did you dwell on? Did you watch something you shouldn’t have on Netflix? Did you give your thoughts to endless hours of violence in a video game that makes killing, murder, and gore out to be a harmless game? You might be rolling your eyes at the mention of these things, but if you have fear and anxiety, doubts and dark thoughts, think about what you think about. There are biblical disciplines in God’s Word to help you, but none of them will help outside of a relationship with Jesus!
You have to cling to Christ Jesus. My son Nathan shared a story yesterday, a perfect example of why you should cling to Jesus—cling to His name—no matter what you’re going through. While I won’t go into all of the details of the story, I will say this. You can’t selectively cling to Jesus. You have to cling to Him (and declare His name) through the good times and the bad. Nathan mentioned John 15:5, which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (NIV). Remember that in order to stay positive through this world-wide crisis, you have to take authority over your thoughts and daily cling to Jesus.