Weekly Impressions - Brooding

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

One of the reasons that I struggle with depression and anxiety is that I brood.  We don’t often use that word today, but it is a more apt verb than dwell.  Brooding is precisely what I do.  I continue to dwell on something that doesn’t lift me up - something that isn’t true, or that lacks honor, a wrong, something impure, or unlovely, or unworthy of praise, if you will.  (Philippians 4:8)  I take this thing and I brood over it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say don’t deal with sin and its consequences in your life.  You have to think about these things, but brooding is when you have passed the point of thinking about them productively, and moved into unproductive thoughts and feelings:  anger, fear, anxiety, depression, and so on.  This is one of the areas that I struggle in.

Most often I don’t realize that I have crossed the line of productive thinking.  I usually don’t catch myself until I am at least a little depressed.  From there, I can see deeper depression on the horizon, but it’s difficult to pull out at that point.  It doesn’t make it easier that I often forget the tools that God has given me to help.

The best thing that I have found so far, is to take the advice of Philippians 4:8, and to dwell on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, anything excellent or worthy of praise.  What better tool for that than the Bible?  If there’s a verse or passage that comes to mind that speaks to what I’m brooding on, that’s best.  If nothing comes to mind, then I can read passages like Philippians 4, Isaiah 51, Colossians 3, to name a few.  Sometimes I thumb through my Bible and read the highlighted passages.  It’s also best to pray during this time.

Then there are the times when I have sunk so low that I can’t focus on what I’m reading or praying.  My mind just keeps wandering back to brooding.  If I simply cannot take my thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), then it is time for Distraction.  This is where I may stretch it when Paul says anything of excellence.  At that point, I am willing to look for anything of excellence to stop the downward spiral.  Most often, it’s a good movie or show, or a game with friends to take my mind off of the brooding.

I don’t always remember to follow this plan.  Just today, I forgot about my Bible.  However, I can rest in the knowledge that though I am not perfect, God is working on me.  That is a promise He has made (Philippians 1:6).  I pray that He helps me to listen to His thoughts, so that I don’t get caught up in my own so often.