Anxiousness

Let’s hit it:

Phil 4:4-8 - 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your [a]gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious (3X) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And I cannot but help to think that if we do the following it will because of two things, the first is that we have conquered anxiousness, and the other is that by doing these things it will keep us from falling into that pit again:

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

So now besides all of the great stuff in that scripture, I must define another word that meditate has triggered in my mind. And I need to do so because I think that that there is a great misunderstanding about the word that is so similar to this word meditate that people have been convinced to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Now but there is a path that can lead a person to meditate on the wrong things right (Pro 23:7)? Yes, but knowing what we should be thinking about and what we should not, we can manage those thoughts. Let’s look at meditations twin brother – D-Com please:

Ruminate:

verb (used without object),ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.

to meditate or muse; ponder.

Psychology. to obsessively revisit the same thought or theme over and over again.

verb (used with object),ru·mi·nat·ed, ru·mi·nat·ing.

to chew again or over and over.

to meditate on; ponder.