Whatever is Lovely

In Philippians there is an admonition to think about whatever is lovely. This is the only place in Scripture where this Greek word occurs. It means pleasing, acceptable, grateful, worthy of personal affection; hence, dearly prized, worth the effort to have and embrace. This call to focus our minds on what is lovely is part of a passage that begins with, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

We are not told to try to rejoice or to try to focus our mind on things that are lovely. I believe this is because as 1 Peter 3:18 says we have been, “made alive in the spiritual realm.” On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came a divine reinforcement took place. The gift of grace has been freely given, an invitation to have our heart bathed in joy, our minds washed by thoughts that are pleasing and acceptable. We have been invited to know a life that is blanketed by peace.

However, I know Christians who suffer from melancholy. Sometimes it’s a chemical imbalance sometimes it’s because of painful things they have experienced in their lives. Are they exempt from joy or a mind that is filled with lovely thoughts?  Are they doomed to have their minds flooded instead with gloomy, woeful, wretched thoughts? Are they destined to live joyless heavy- hearted lives?

Yesterday I heard a story that helped me understand the relationship between the gifts we’ve been given and the lives we live. The story was of a young man who received a gift from his mother. The gift was in a big box and at the time he received it he was very busy so he put it on the floor of his closet and forgot about it. The gift remained hidden in his closet for the remainder of the time he lived there. He never benefited from the gift because he never opened it. I think this is a picture of the relationship of the gifts God gives us and faith. It takes faith to live a life that is not based on what I see or feel but is instead based on the gifts and promises of God.

William Cowper was a man who suffered from melancholy. He fought to embrace what was lovely and to know the joy of the Lord. I do not fully understand the struggles that he had but I am grateful for the insight I have been given when he by faith could see the light shining in the darkness.

Light Shining in the Darkness

By William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way               

  His wonders to perform;           

He plants his footsteps in the sea,           

  And rides upon the storm.        

Deep in unfathomable mines            

  Of never-failing skill,    

He treasures up his bright designs,         

  And works his sovereign will.   

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,     

  The clouds ye so much dread           

Are big with mercy, and shall break        

  In blessings on your head.        

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,      

  But trust him for his grace;        

Behind a frowning providence           

  He hides a smiling face.              

His purposes will ripen fast,        

  Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,             

  But sweet will be the flower.            

Blind unbelief is sure to err,       

  And scan his work in vain;         

God is his own interpreter,         

  And he will make it plain.