You drive to Safeway to pick up French bread for dinner. As you drive home, someone cuts you off and rudely honks at you like it was your fault. When you arrive home, what are you thinking about? You are grumbling about the obnoxious person who cut you off, right?
Did you think about the fact that you have a car and didn’t have to walk to Safeway? Or that you had gas in your car? Or that you didn’t have an accident? Or that you are healthy enough to drive to the store? Or that you have money to buy the bread? Or that there is food on the shelves for you to buy? Well, right now with the Coronavirus scare, they are out of a few things, including toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but that’s not why you went to the store.
Unfortunately, our brains are hardwired for this. In the natural world, we have two basic goals in life, avoiding bad things and attaining good things. When it comes to survival, avoiding is more important than attaining. Avoiding an enemy is more important than attaining dinner. If you are working with power tools, avoiding cutting your finger off is more important than attaining the finished project. If you are cooking, avoiding poisoning your family is more important than attaining the perfectly cooked spaghetti.
As a consequence, bad things tend to stick to your brain like Velcro, and good things tend to slide off like Teflon. That tendency keeps us safe, but it also can keep us miserable. When we make one stupid mistake, we stay awake all night kicking ourselves. If there’s a 5% chance of something bad happening, we worry all day that it will happen.
What does the Bible say?
Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians. He was well-acquainted with fear and stress. What did he say? “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Go out of your way to focus on the good things. When something good happens, stop. Think about it. Feel it. Let it become part of you. Don’t rush on to the next thought. Let a good fact become a good experience. Negative thoughts are already like Velcro. You have to put some energy into sewing Velcro on your good thoughts.
With this current Coronavirus scare, the bad things are getting bigger. To combat it, be intentional with your thoughts. Think, focus, and pay attention to the good things.
Turn off social media and go walk on the beach. Listen to the seagulls and the roaring ocean. Or walk in the park and listen to the birds. Feel the sun on your face. Watch the breeze ripple the grass. Exercise has been proven to decrease stress and increase your immune system, so spend time thinking about how good this is for both your body and your soul. Sew some Velcro on these thoughts and feelings.
When you pray, instead of begging God to help you in the future, spend your time thanking God for all He’s done in the past. When you feel His Spirit, spend some time relaxing and enjoying it. Sew some Velcro on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy.
