Four Things God Renews (Part 2)
Your Mind.
Have you ever taken one of those StrengthsFinder tests? What was your #1 strength? Mine was “futuristic.” This “strength” is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it makes me a vision caster and a pretty good event planner. The curse is that I analyze everything and consider the “what ifs” more than I should. I find it difficult to live in the moment and “abide” as the Bible talks about in John 15. So for me, renewing my mind is a discipline. It is a constant battle to focus on “today” rather than “tomorrow.”
Does your mind need to be renewed?
Do you think negatively?
Do you worry constantly?
Are you angry too often?
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
God sees mind renewal as a holy, pleasing sacrifice. A sacrifice means it’s against our human nature and not easy to turn our thinking around, but If we do it, we will better understand God’s purpose for our life.
So how do we renew our minds?
We must focus our thinking on God’s truth, found in His word.
The MacArthur Bible Commentary says, “This kind of transformation can occur only as the Holy Spirit changes our thinking through consistent study and meditation on Scripture. The renewed mind is one saturated with and controlled by the Word of God.”
We must humble ourselves and pray to see situations as God sees them.
What is running through our minds may not be a thought from above. In 1 Corinthians 3:19 it says, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” Are you willing to allow God to renew your mind so you can see things His way, to be wise in His eyes, not your own?
Renew our minds can prevent the wrong words from spewing out of our mouths.
The mind and the heart are often interchangeable in the Bible. What we are thinking in our minds may emerge as hurtful words. Like garbage, we must throw out the corruption that begins in our minds and submit to the renewal found in Christ Jesus. “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:8–9).
Today, consider doing a self-examination. Ask God to expose any ‘stinkin’ thinkin’ that exists in your mind, and then submit yourself to His renewal. If you do, you will have more peace and will also have a much clearer picture of your life as God sees it.