Renew Your Mind—Change Your Life
Photo by Nathan McBride
I learned at an early age how to do and say the right things so I could be “good.” Do you know exactly what I’m talking about?
When I truly met Jesus for the first time as a teenager, He started the long, beautiful, sometimes-difficult process of renewing my mind. I believed a few things about Him that weren’t true, and He wanted to set the record straight.
What does it mean to renew your mind? Practically speaking, how can a person learn to do this so they know the truth at last and can find freedom from mental torment in the area of past woundings?
What Does Renewing the Mind Actually Look Like?
Renewing your mind simply means replacing your thoughts with the thoughts God has for you. It’s learning to think the way He thinks and letting go of any lies you believe.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. (2 Cor. 10:5a NIV)
We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. (2 Cor. 10:5b TPT)
If something is a lie, we don’t want it—we want only the truth of God. He is truth (John 14:6), so what He says is a statute that produces life in every single thing it touches.
When we take our thoughts captive and train ourselves to think the way the Lord thinks, we start living the way He always intended His children to live.
Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past. (Gal. 5:1 TPT)
Why Does Renewing the Mind Matter?
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. (Prov. 4:23 NIV)
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve probably heard people talk about guarding your heart. This is a common expression in the church, particularly in dating situations.
“Are you getting to know someone new? Be sure to guard your heart!”
But dating is only one small area where this verse can be applied. There’s actually a much more important reason for standing watch over our hearts:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. (Luke 10:27 NIV)
We were made to worship God with everything we are. He wants our hearts—they were made for Him, and that means they are sacred.
What we allow inside our heads forms our thoughts and attitudes and shapes the deepest parts of our beings. If we accept negative influences, they grow to become deeply rooted inside us. So the quicker we detect a negative emotional condition and get it straightened out, the better off we are.
Part of guarding our hearts means identifying the areas of our lives that need healing and allowing God to heal them. Where do we believe lies—things that are not true about God or ourselves? What is God thinking in those areas?
Here are a few practical ways you can start to renew your mind to God’s truth:
1. Go Directly to the Source of Truth
Renew your mind by reading the Bible and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you more about your true identity in Him: who you really are, how He is FOR you, and how He wants you to be whole.
Take note of Bible verses that feel “weighty” to you or clearly reveal, “This is who you are as a child of God!” Write them down and speak them out loud. Get in the habit of declaring the truth of God in your life.
The Lord’s heart is tender and compassionate toward you. You will be amazed at His love as you become more and more familiar with His truth.
2. Share Your Healing with Someone Else
One practical way to strengthen your healing is by talking about it with another person.
What has God done in your life? What has He told you or shown you? What truth is He breathing to life in your heart right now?
Any area in which God has healed you is a testimony someone else needs for breakthrough. You’ve been there, done that, and He’s spoken to you—other people need to know His truth in that area, too.
3. Set Boundaries for Your Thoughts
Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do about it?
The next time you find yourself thinking or behaving in “old” ways, stop and change your thoughts.
“No, I’m not going to take that road anymore. God has shown me a NEW way—the right and proper way! I’m going to believe His truth instead!”
Speak out loud who He is and what He’s done. Remind yourself of the truth and set good boundaries for your thought life, so you don’t get sucked back into the pit He just delivered you from.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand. (Ps. 40:1–2 NIV)
When we think what God is thinking, we get what is real! Our lives fill up with what’s good, acceptable, and perfect (Rom. 12:2). We change for the better, and we get to live each day in the joy of the Lord.
Are you ready for your life to change?
How to Apply This Information Personally
Are there any areas where you can tell you believe a lie? Choose one of these areas and write it down.
What does GOD say in or about that area? What is the TRUTH? Which verses in Scripture declare who you really are and who God really is? Write the truth down.
How does knowing the truth of God in this area make you feel?
What boundaries can you set in place to help keep yourself from returning to the old way of thinking in the future?
Every day for thirty days, go over what you wrote down and keep it fresh in your mind. “This is the truth of God for me!”
For more information on this topic, check out “Healing for Your Emotions,” chapter 7 in Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more. You can also order the book in Spanish.
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