Bible Study Lesson: A Healthy Mind

What do you focus your mind on? As a mom and a wife, we are so busy organizing lists and schedules in our mind, endless tasks and chores. Do we find time to focus on something more important - because yes, there is something more important than planning your meals for the week and loading your 5th load of laundry for the day.

When we have those moments alone, do we spend them mindlessly scrolling, watching Tik Tok or YouTube videos that have a mere moment of entertainment but don't really fill any part of our spirit?

We are all guilty of the mindless scroll and getting stuck into the endless feed of quick fix entertainment, I really am not guilting anyone because I do it too. The next time you do indulge a little too much in those Instagram reels and stories, evaluate how you feel when you switch off.

Are you fulfilled and energized, rested and ready for the rest of your tasks? Are you annoyed and more tired than when you first sat down, do you have less patience with your kids and find yourself complaining about the things you don't have?

Let's do a short Bible study lesson through Philippians 4:6-8 and hear what Paul suggests we do to focus our minds on the right things

Our Focus Affects our Emotions

We often feel like our emotions are on a downward spiral, and because emotions affect our mental state, that shortly follows the spiral leaving us feeling helpless and stuck in a bad emotional and mental state. We believe the lie that we cannot control our emotions and let them control us.

What we fill our mind with and what we focus our mind on will have a direct impact on our emotions and mental wellbeing. We do in fact have control over what we are focusing on. What you put in is what you will inevitably get out.

What does the Bible say about our focus?

It turns out that God laid every single detail for living a healthy life right there in His word. All we need to do is figure out how to apply scripture to our everyday life. Let's dive into our Bible study lesson from Philippians 4:4-8 and break it down verse by verse. All verses are taken from the CSB Version.

Philippians 4:4

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

Paul is clearly telling us something important here, he even needed to repeat himself to put greater emphasis on it. He is telling us to rejoice in the Lord always. Not only when times are good and things are running smoothly and your finances are all in order - ALWAYS.

Paul was writing this letter while chained to a Roman soldier in prison. Do you think he had much reason to rejoice in his earthly circumstances? Definitely not, but still he chose to rejoice in the Lord instead of dwelling on the misery of being in chains in a prison cell.

There are so many reasons for us to rejoice, so many things to be grateful for, if we focus our mind on the Lord and rejoicing no matter what season we are in. Rejoicing doesn't necessarily mean being happy in your circumstance. I like how the

Merriam-Webster

Philippians 4:5

"Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."

Paul goes on to tell us that the Lord is near and that our graciousness should be known to everyone. The word graciousness comes from the original Greek text meaning gentle spirit. How do we get a gentle spirit? By rejoicing in the Lord always!

He also makes a reference to the fact that the Lord is near. If we know that He is near and coming again soon, we also know that things of this world are very much temporary and will no longer matter in the greater scheme of things. So our focus should be on the eternal things that matter and not of the worldly things that only offer temporary happiness.

Philippians 4:6-7

"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Who doesn't want peace? I myself long for peace most days! Sure we can find moments of peace, but if we want a peace that surpasses all understanding, then we need to go to our Father. Instead of focusing our minds on all of the tasks and worries of the day, feeling anxious about our never-ending to-do list or sick kids, focus on THE ONE who gives us peace and joy.

Paul's Bible study lesson for us is to simply pray! There is so much to unwrap in this verse alone about prayer (I may have to cover that in another post), but simply put Paul gives us 4 things that we need to do in order to have a healthy heart and mind.

Don't worry about anything

Pray about everything

Pray humbly (this is supplication)

Present your requests with thanksgiving

What do we get if we use this template for prayer? Peace! Peace that will guard our hearts and minds, which means a healthy heart, mind and spirit.

Philippians 4:8

"Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things."

Here Paul literally lays out the foundation for having a healthy mind right here in the Bible. He tells us exactly what to focus our minds and our attention on. The word "dwell" comes from the Greek word "

logizomai"

If we are to have a healthy mind, heart and spirit, we are to meditate and think about - focus on things that care lovely and just and commendable, things that are praiseworthy and of moral excellence and what is pure and true. That cuts out a lot of what the world is offering!

Final Thoughts

It's really easy to get wrapped up in life and in the things of this world. God didn't create us to not enjoy what He created for us on this planet, but we shouldn't be focusing our minds on everything worldly. Paul also tells us in the Bible to set our minds on things above. He knew that this is exactly where our peace, joy and fulfillment comes from.

Where is your focus and what are you doing to pour into your heart and mind to have a healthy spirit? Let me challenge you to print out this verse above and stick it somewhere in your home as a reminder of the things we should be focusing on. Add in prayer and thanksgiving and we have the winning recipe for a healthy mind and spirit which leads to healthy emotions and a better way of life.

If you are looking for a great Bible study on emotions and the heart, I can recommend

this one

Today I am choosing to focus on my children, God's word and the beauty all around - tuning out of social media and choosing prayer and meaningful conversation instead.

What can you focus on today that is lovely, pure and true? Leave me a comment!