Have you ever been angry, depressed, or anxious where the same negative or hurtful message keeps playing over and over in your head?  Of course you have.  We all experience the haunting of the negative message stuck on repeat in our minds.

It can be that hurtful thing that someone said, and it just keeps playing over and over again in our heads.  They said it one time in one moment, but we hear it a thousand times played over and over again for days, weeks, and sometimes even years.

It can be that depressing or anxious message that we find inside of us and we repeat to ourselves over and over again.  The message can take the form of different circumstances or characters but it always tells the same story in our minds – “You can’t.” “You’re not enough.”  “You’re not okay.” “You’re not safe.”  “You can’t let them see.”  “If they ever found out…” “It’s all your fault.” “You’re all alone.”  “You’re going to let them down.” “Nothing really matters.” “Your best isn’t good enough.”

Whether these messages originally came from someone else or came from within, they can drive us crazy, steal our happiness, our motivation, our vitality, and drive a wedge between us and other people and keep us from truly living the life we’ve been given.

Thankfully there is a way out of these turnstyle traps and it is found in some advice in the Bible from an early church leader named Paul. One way to look at the Bible is as an ongoing conversation between wise people about human relationships with God and with each other.  Paul is one of those wise people and he joins in the conversation a lot in the later part of the Bible.

One of the times Paul was in prison he wrote a letter to a group of Jesus followers in the Greek city of Philippi.  In part of that letter Paul gives the people, and us, some great advice when we’re having a conflict with someone else, or even our selves.

Paul knew that the record that we play over and over again in our minds of those hurtful things someone said or those damning messages that have somehow gotten inside of us can mess up our lives and our relationships, so here is what this wise old man told us to do – change the record.

In Philippians 4:4-9, Paul says this:

⁴ Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. ⁵ Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. ⁶ Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. ⁷ Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

⁸ Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. ⁹ You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.

Nathan Translation – Change the record playing inside of you by celebrating God and God’s goodness.  Give your life, the world and all its’ troubles back to God.  Focus on all the things you have to be grateful for and let God fill your thoughts and feelings with peace.   Meditate on what is good, beautiful, and true.  Latch onto people who are an encouragement and helpful challenge to you.  Do these things and you will have peace in your soul and find out how much God is with you.

Think about printing out Paul’s advice and sticking it somewhere you’ll see it and can read it often – the dash of your car, your bathroom mirror, your office desk, microwave door, etc.  After all, that record isn’t going to change itself.