Day 4: Meditate on the Right Things

Your thought life shapes your emotional life. What you think about day in and day out will eventually affect what you feel, how you act, and even how you relate to God.

That’s why Paul gives us this powerful filter in Philippians 4:8 (ESV):

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Why? Because anxiety often flows from meditating on the wrong things like fear, failure, and future “what ifs.”

It can also come from what we feed our minds with every day.

We live in a world of constant input: endless scrolls, videos, ads, opinions, entertainment. Addiction to media, social media, and pornography is often driven by a desire to numb anxiety.

For many, especially those raised in a phone-based world, endless scrolling has become a form of emotional avoidance. Instead of turning to God or processing emotions within healthy relationships, we self-soothe negative emotions with a Netflix binge, a TikTok spiral, or porn.

Meditating on and feeding our mind with the things of this world doesn’t pass the Philippians 4:8 test. These things are not always true. Not always pure. Rarely lovely or praiseworthy.

So we have to ask ourselves honestly, “What is my media diet doing to my mind?”

Consuming content that’s shallow, negative, impure, or worldly doesn't just distract us, it conforms us.

As Paul writes in Romans 12:2 (ESV):

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Worldly content creates and reinforces mental patterns of fear, comparison, insecurity, and anxiety. Jesus warned us that sin begins in the heart and mind. Matthew 15:19 (ESV) says:

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."

But when we intentionally meditate on what’s true, noble, pure, and excellent, we renew our minds and realign our hearts with God’s.

This is why we must fill our minds with God’s Word. Joshua 1:8 (ESV) says:

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Biblical meditation isn’t emptying your mind. It’s filling it with God’s truth. It means to dwell on and repeat, to let it sink deep. Not just skim across your mind.

You can't always control what thoughts enter your mind. But you can choose which ones get to stay.

Reflection Questions

• What are you meditating on lately—fear or Truth?
• How does your media diet compare to Philippians 4:8?
• Am I filling my mind with God’s word? If not, how can I start?