His Encouragement from Philippians

Posted by abakersp in Thoughtful Thursday / 2 Comments

Hello friends! Welcome to His Encouragement, a weekly dose of biblical encouragement to help get you through your week! Make sure you check out what my friends have to say too. Let’s all encourage each other!

Today I have a message specific to wives (although it could apply to girlfriends too). Let me ask you something. Have you ever had a negative though towards your husband? Seems like a silly question, right? Lately I’ve been counting on my husband to do a lot for me during my recovery. Has it always been easy? No. I’m very stubborn, and have had the caretaker role for our entire marriage, so having to step out of that is extremely difficult for me. For the record, I’m not a very good patient either. I don’t tolerate pain very well, and I typically try to do things on my own so I’m not a burden to someone else.

So where am I going with this? Well, during my time at home I found myself having negative thoughts about my husband here and there. Maybe I didn’t like the way he did something, or I wanted him to concentrate on me more, or whatever it was. And shame on me! Looking back I am chastising myself because I instead should have given constant praise for helping me through something difficult. I should have thanked him for literally having to pick me up out of a chair, helping me walk around the house, and even helping me in the bathroom. And while I did thank him here and there, my mind just couldn’t help but think on the negative.

I started a bible devotion this week about loving your husband, and I am loving it. I came across this verse the other day and have really held it close to me heart.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 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.” Philippians 4:8

We should be thinking good thoughts towards our husbands. It doesn’t matter that they don’t know our thoughts – God does. God doesn’t want us saying anything negative about our husbands. I know – easier said than done. The devotion I’m reading gave a fantastic suggestion that I would like to share with you. (By the way, you can find this devotion series on the YouVersion Bible App called Love Your Husband). They suggest making a list of all the good attributes of your husband. Keep it handy, and add to it as you think of things. Then, when a negative thought starts to creep in your mind, pull out this list and concentrate on the good things. I love this idea! I think though it takes a lot of work, our minds really are trainable. We can eventually train our minds to think on the positive things, like Philippians tells us to do. I encourage you to think good thoughts towards your husband this week. And make sure to tell him, out loud, what you love about him!

What’s been on your heart this week friends? I hope you’ll share in the comments, and please don’t forget to visit my friends and see what they’re sharing this week!

Trisha @ Joy of Reading

Nicole @ Christian Fiction Girl

Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home

Becca @ The Becca Files

Gina @ Stories by Gina

Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes

2 responses to “His Encouragement from Philippians

  1. This is a great post. I struggle a lot with negativity. I can easily be swayed into a negative mindset. But lately, I’ve been saying, “NO!” I do not want a bad attitude. I do not want to focus on the bad. I’ve been asking God to help me focus on the things above. It has really been changing my outlook on life lately. God is so good!