Focussing on What Produces Joy

To produce joy, we must learn to change our thought pattern. It is a matter of changing your focus. If you persist in identifying with your past self or performance by constantly thinking about it, then where you have been, what you are now, and where you are going will all be one in the same and you will never grow into something more. The Apostle Paul gives us the solution to this problem via Philippians 4:8. It essentially tells us that we need to search out and dwell on the positives in life. We need to be looking for God's character revealed within us and for His blessings in our lives. Phil 4:8 gives us a "to think" list; a thought list that when employed will produce positive results. Productive thinking, as suggested by Paul, and destructive, negative thinking, are both merely habits. We must choose, moment by moment, which habit we want to develop.
Whatever improvement in life that you are seeking must start with your thought life. Whatever you give your attention to expands in your experience. Thus, if you dwell on your strengths, your blessings, and your goals, then you will experience more strengths, blessings, and success in your goals. You can build any virtue into your mentality by dwelling on that virtue, meditating on it, every day. Dwelling on you problems doesn't fix them; it just makes you an expert on them. The more you dwell on them, the tighter the grip they exert on you, thus influencing the decisions you make and the actions you take. The good news is that this principle is also effective for positive things in life. Thus, instead of letting your negatives control you, you can choose to be influenced by joy and be more joyful by dwelling on your positives. Remember, whatever you give your attention to expands in your experience!
A great application of the 4:8 Principle is by confronting a negative in life by bathing it in a positive. If it is a problem, don't focus on the problem, but rather the solutions. If it is a negative attitude, move attention away from it and toward a positive one by thinking about the positives in life.
The simplest way to redirect your thoughts from negative ones to positive ones and thus continue to develop productive, joy-producing thinking is to ask 4:8 questions. These are questions about your life that automatically extract a positive answer. The following are examples.
1. What are 5 things I am thankful for right now?
2. What are 5 of my strengths?
3. What are my 5 best acheivements?
4. Who are 5 people that love me?

These questions cause you to dwell on the positive, not the negative. By keeping questions like these in the forefront of your mind and asking them frequently, you can take captive every thought and give attention to the positive in your life and not the negative, leading to joy instead of dispair.

What can I do?

1. Bring your thought life into consciousness. Each and every moment is an opportunity to change your now and your future.
2. Don't give attention to your negatives. Instead, focus on the positives in life and the solutions to your problems.
3. Develop the habit of having positive, productive thinking instead of negative, destructive thinking.
4. Ask and answer 4:8 questions each and every day and keep them at the forefront of your thinking. Be prepared with them at every moment of the day.

My Application

I tend to be one who constantly dwells on the negatives. Even if it is the best situation imaginable, I always tend to find the one or two even littlest things to dwell on that are keeping the situation from being perfect. It is part of my sinful nature, part the way I was raised, and part a lie from Satan. God does not desire this of me. It is not a part of how He made me. I do not deserve perfection in my situations. I cannot earn perfection. I cannot and am not judge of every situation. God does not expect perfection from me in and of myself. I thus experience disappointment and dwell on that day in and day out. So what is my solution? What is my application? My solution is to remember constantly to TRUST GOD. I have to keep at the forefront of my mind that God does not require me to be perfect. God has not given me authority to judge every situation. God has put me in every situation, whether good or bad, for my own good, and He desires me to be there because He loves me. I have to take every thought captive and subject it to the test of whether it is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, or of good report. If not, I eject the thought and think attempt to realize God's blessing in my life by asking my own 4:8 questions.

1. Does God love me?

2. Am I forgiven?

3. Did God put me in this situation?

4. Does God care for me even in this situation?

5. How has God blessed me in this situation?

6. What can I learn from this situation?