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. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
What are you filling your minds with during each day? What TV shows, movies, or books are occupying your free time? It seems that the more violent or explicit things we view, the less joy we begin to feel. It’s kind of like “garbage in, garbage out”; when we choose negative things to put into our memories, our thoughts, dreams, and actions can reflect them.
Thankfully, we can make a choice to fill our minds with good, positive things, instead. Perhaps we can choose to listen to Christian music, read Christian fiction, or memorize Scripture. God desires that we fill our minds with thoughts that are “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable”. When we do that, we begin to think about things that are “excellent or praiseworthy”, which leads us to feel joy within our heart. May you experience God’s joy as you choose to fill your mind with God’s good things today.