To Encourage You

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”

Do you know that God never commands us to do anything that is impossible for us – with His help, that is.  That’s a wonderful thing to keep before us when we find ourselves doing things that we really don’t want to do, but more than that, doing things we know God doesn’t want us to do.  So much of what the Bible tells us to do or not do involves the way we think.  Sometimes our minds seem to be in control of us rather than the other way around.  Have you ever been in a situation where you just can’t stop thinking about something?  Maybe that’s happening right now.  That’s ok, if what we’re thinking about is a good thing – like the upcoming arrival of a new baby into our family, or the anticipation of our wedding. However, it can be a very bad thing if the thoughts are negative and tending toward worry, some temptation to sin, or anger towards someone who has wronged us.  Such thoughts can consume us if we’re not careful. They can affect everything else in life with an unhealthy preoccupation on the negative.  It is with such a mindset that many who are without Christ are focused and it’s called being “conformed to this world.”  However, for the believer who finds himself or herself caught in such a trap, there is a remedy.  We don’t have to continue on that path.  We can change – for God has told us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” 

If you remember the childhood toy, the “Etch-a-Sketch,” if we were trying to create something that wasn’t turning out like we wanted we just turned the thing upside down, shook it a few times, and the thing we had just made was erased from view.  The fact is, the believer can do something much like that with our minds.  When we’ve found that our thoughts aren’t as they should be as commanded in the Word of God, we can actually renew our minds with entirely new thought patterns.  Rather than dwelling on the negative thoughts that can tear us down and fill us with worry, lust, or anger, we can choose to do as God’s Word commands, i.e., “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).  And where do we find such things?  The Word of God is filled with them!  It is on the Word that the believer is to “meditate day and night” (Psalm 1). It’s to be a preoccupation of the mind that influences every area of life – in a God-honoring way, rather than in a God-dishonoring, worldly way. 

So, if you find yourself preoccupied with ungodly thoughts right now, it’s good to be reminded that if you are a believer, you can most certainly “renew your mind.” It’s a process of consciously thinking about the things that God has said, rather than on the things that are coming at us from without or within that would influence us away from such things. 

Renewal of the mind: what a wonderful truth that God has made possible to those who know Him as we focus on the wonderful and supernatural things that He has said rather than on the natural things that are anything but wonderful, but which can so easily dominate our thinking as we live our lives in this world.