Pastor Kelvin gives practical tips on how to be hopeful
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Our society today is desperately in need of hope. Today Rev. Jones concluded his series called “Finding Hope” by turning to a motivational passage that is full of very helpful advice. Philippians 4:4-9 is Paul’s encouragement to a church that was going through difficult times. Pastor Kelvin calls these couple paragraphs “God’s Recipe for Healthy Thinking.” These six habits invite God’s peace and help us to be hopeful.
Paul begins by changing our focus. He encourages us to “Rejoice in the Lord.” Lifting our heart up to God sets a different tone. Next Paul is led by the Spirit to challenge our hidden hostilities. He advises us, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” We cannot be at peace when we harbor resentments. Third, Paul reminds us to remember “The Lord is near!” Cultivating an awareness of God’s presence allows the peace of God to flow into our souls. We live differently and think differently when we remember that “The Lord is near.”
Then Paul gets to the mental habit which is usually our first thought – prayer. We certainly do need to make a habit of taking our cares to God in prayer and faith. The result in our hearts will be both peace and increased faith. As we pray Paul reminds us to be thankful. When we are thankful we are inspired by the faithfulness of God in the past and become hopeful that God is at work in our present and immediate future as well.
Finally Paul reminds us to think on positive and edifying things. Pastor Kelvin reminded us that our brains are being physically shaped by the experiences and inputs that we have. We are literally forming ourselves day by day into who we will be tomorrow. This is what makes Paul’s recommendation so powerful.
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.
Philippians 4:8
When we follow these six mental and spiritual health habits, then the twice-repeated promise is that we will enjoy God’s peace (Phil. 4:7,9). And when we have inner peace, with its sense of calm and well-being from God, then we also overflow with hope (Rom. 15:13).