My Life Is Shaped By My Thoughts

In review of Proverbs 4:23 it says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts”

Bottom Line:

Guard your thoughts, for they influence what you do.

What this means to me:

Above everything else, I am to carefully guard my thoughts, for they will influence and determine the course of my life.

Today's passage comes from Proverbs 4 which is filled with a father's wise advice. In this tidbit of a verse, I am encouraged to guard my heart above everything else, for it will determine the course my life will take.

From what I can tell, God is far more interested in changing my mind than in changing my circumstances.

Of course, I’d rather that God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But what I’m learning is that God wants to work on me first, because transformation won’t happen in my life until I renew my mind, until my thoughts begin to change.

Here are three reasons I’m learning regarding the importance of managing my mind:

First, because my thoughts control my life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (TEV). The power of my thoughts has tremendous ability to shape my life for good or for bad. For example, maybe I accept the thought someone told me when I was growing up, “I’m worthless. I don’t matter.” If I accepted that thought, even though it was wrong, it shaped my life.

Second, because the mind is the battleground for sin. All temptation happens in the mind. Paul said in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB). Mental fatigue occurs because there’s a battle going on in my brain 24 hours a day. It’s debilitating because it’s intense, and it’s intense because my mind is my greatest asset. Satan wants my greatest asset!

Thirdly, because it’s the key to peace and happiness. An unmanaged mind leads to tension. A managed mind leads to tranquility. An unmanaged mind leads to conflict. A managed mind leads to confidence. An unmanaged mind leads to stress. When I don’t try to control my mind and the way I direct my thoughts, I will have an enormous amount of stress in my life. But a managed mind leads to strength and security and serenity.

“Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (Romans 8:6 NLT).

My heart is extremely valuable. And I wouldn’t guard worthless things that are worthless. My heart forms the essence of who I am. It is where all my dreams, desires, and passions live. It is that part of me that connects with God and other people. Since my heart is the source of everything, it overflows into thoughts, words, and actions. I believe this is why it is under constant attack and why Solomon tells me to guard it.

Moving Toward Lasting Change

In review of Romans 12:2a it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”

Bottom Line:

Don’t just copy the world around you. Let God transform you by changing the way you think.

What this means to me:

I am not to conform and copy the behavior and customs of this world. Rather I am to let God transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will be able to see and know what God’s will is for me.

What I’m learning is that to have lasting change, I need to refocus my thinking. Specifically, I need to change my thought patterns from focusing on what I don’t want to focus on to what I do want to focus on. Whatever I focus on is what I move toward.

Today’s verse gives me the blueprint for changing my thought patterns:

“Do not conform …” How often do I let other people shape my life and thinking? God doesn’t want me to be like someone else; he wants me to be the person he made me to be. So don’t copy, don’t conform, don’t try to be like anybody else.

“… the pattern of this world.” Pattern means the model of everything I’ve learned in life. If I am to change, I’ll have to change my pattern or model of living that I’ve learned. I need to replace the old, unhealthy pattern with a new one modeled after the life of Christ.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” “Transformed” is the same as the word used for metamorphosis, the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. In the same way, God wants to transform me into a completely new person by renewing my mind.

How does this happen? Ephesians 4:22-24 tells me to: “Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires ... be made new in the attitude of your minds; and ... put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (NIV).

This means I’m going to have to do some putting off and to do some putting on; and the putting off has to happen before the putting on. Much like trying on clothes in a department store. Before I can try on the new stuff, I have to take off the old stuff.

This means, I’m going to have to let go of the old attitudes, the old thought patterns, the old images that I’ve been living with so that I can put on the new garments God has for me.

Today I will consider what “old stuff” I need to take off so that God can renew my thinking.

God Understands I Can’t Change Overnight

In review of Ephesians 4:24 it says, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy”

Bottom Line:

Put on your new self, created like God, that is righteous and holy.

What this means to me:

I must put on a new self, one which is created in God’s likeness and they reveals itself in a life that is done in an upright and useful manner.

Today's passage comes from the last half of Ephesians 4 where he is telling those in Ephesus about living as children of light.  He tells us to no longer live as the Gentiles do, helplessly confused. They are far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. We are to throw off your old sinful nature and former ways of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, we are to let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Then we are to put on our new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.

It's good to know that when God is helping me grow, he doesn’t just snap his fingers so that it happens instantly. Rather he does it incrementally. When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours, but when he wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years.

Would I rather be a mushroom or an oak tree?

What I’m learning is that the Holy Spirit will make changes in my life far beyond anything I thought possible, but they’re not going to happen overnight.  However, I do need to be intentional about it. The Bible says, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24 NLT).

I become more like Jesus by throwing off the old things and the old ways that keep me from getting to know Christ and becoming like him, and I put on my new self with the help of the Holy Spirit. I let God do his work in me, no matter how long it takes.

“As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18b TLB).

Today, I’ll consider what are my goals for the next 10 years and how I’d like God to work.  I’ll ask him to help me trust as he works in his time to fulfill his purpose for me.

Letting God Take the Driver’s Seat

In review of Matthew 16:24 it says, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am”

Bottom Line:

Give up on your way and let Jesus take the drivers seat

What this means to me:

If I truly want to follow Jesus and be his disciple, then I must give up on my way and let him take the lead (be in the drivers seat).

Today's passage comes from Matthew chapter 16 where Jesus predicts his death. Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and while there that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders and religious teachers. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. Peter, however, began to reprimand Jesus for saying such things. Jesus turned to Peter and said, "get away from me, you're a dangerous trap for me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God's". Jesus then told his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up on your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. Trying to hang on to one's life will make you end up losing it. However, if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. What would it benefit you to gain this whole world but lose your own soul?

This is what I’m learning about letting go and letting God take control:

First, I need to continue to make Jesus the manager of my life. The problem is, I usually want to be my own manager, and as such I argue, disagree or just ignore God. I think I know what’s best. The reason for stress is that I’m constantly fighting God in my mind, “I know God says to do this but I want to do that instead!”

Each day when I wake up, I have a decision to make: Who’s going to be in charge of my life? Who’s going to be in control; me or God? Who’s going to call the shots; me or God? Every day, moment-by-moment, I need to make that decision. Whenever I choose to make myself the manager of my own life, it causes conflict, confusion, and stress.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am” (MSG). However, I often give him the driver’s seat and then promptly hop into the backseat and become backseat drivers. Constantly giving him “advice,” like, “No, turn this way. Stop. Wait. Faster! I want to go that way. I want to see that sight.”

Life won’t look very good when you’re trying to lead with God at the same time. I need to just let God be God and make Jesus the manager of my life.

Today I will consider areas of my life where I have concerns and stress. If I gave them back over to him, what would it look like? What difference would it make?

Meekness Is Not The Same As Weakness

In review of Matthew 5:5 it says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”

Bottom Line:

Blessed are the meek, for they will receive what God has promised.

What this means to me:

I will be blessed for being meek and humble. I will receive what God has promised.

Today's passage comes from Matthew 5 where Jesus is teaching about the beatitudes. Jesus tells us that God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, those who are meek and humble, those who hunger and thirst for justice, those who are merciful, whose hearts are pure, those who work for peace and those who are persecuted for doing right.

In order to make healthy choices I need to have to learn and practice being meek. Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (NIV).

Scripture lists many benefits of meekness: The meek will be satisfied (Psalm 22:26); God will guide them (Psalm 25:9); they will become wise (Proverbs 11:2); they will be filled with fresh joy (Isaiah 29:19).

However, the term “meek” is not really understood. In fact it is often confused with another term that sounds like it; “meek” sounds like “weak.” Nobody wants to be weak, so nobody wants to be meek.

What I have learned is that meekness and weakness are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Meekness is in no way weakness. In fact, the Greek word for meekness literally means “strength under control.” To be meek is not to be weak. It’s used to describe a wild stallion that has been tamed. That stallion still has all the strength it had when it was wild, but now its strength is under control. It is strength bottled up for the master’s use. God doesn’t want me to be weak, but he does want me to be meek. The Bible teaches that it’s one of the keys to stress reduction in your life.

Here’s a simple definition of the word meek: Let go, and let God. That is the essence of meekness. It is surrendering, submitting, and agreeing to what God wants to do in your life. It’s letting God be God in your life. Let go, and let God.

If I can begin to practice it, I’m sure it will relieve stress and eliminate worry. If I’ll let go and let God, it will defuse anger and end any hurt and resentment.

Today I will consider what areas of life I need to surrender so that God can take control.

Change Starts With My Thoughts

In review of Ephesians 4:23 it says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes”

Bottom Line:

Let the Spirit change the way you think.

What this means to me:

I am to let the Spirit within me renew my thoughts, attitudes and way of thinking.

Today's verse also comes from Ephesians 4 where Paul is speaking on living as children of light. He tells us to no longer live as ones who are hopelessly confused and full of darkness because of closed minds and hardened hearts against him. No longer living for lustful pleasures and practices. Christ showed us something different. So given this, Paul tells us to throw off our sinful nature and former ways of life that is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. With this we are to put on our new nature, created to be like more like His son Jesus.

Change in my life will also require a new way of thinking. The way I think determines the way I feel, and the way I feel determines the way I act. If you want to change the way I act, I start by changing the way I think. In addition, if I want to change the way I feel, I must start with the way I think. Today’s verse reminds me to, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).

The battle for sin, the battle to deal with the defects in my life that I don’t like, starts in my mind. In order to change anything, behavior or emotions, I need to start with my thoughts and my attitude.

I’m learning that the renewal of my mind is really related to the word “repentance.” I know repentance is a dirty word for a lot of people. They think it means something bad, something they don’t really want to do, something painful. They think of a guy standing on a street corner with a sign that says, “Repent! The world’s about to end!”

However repentance is about more than changing my behavior. It is about changing my mind and learning to think differently. “Repent” simply means to make a mental U-turn. I turn from guilt to forgiveness, from frustration to freedom, from darkness to light, from hatred and bitterness to love.

It’s nice to know that God is not mad at me; rather he’s mad about me! While I’m deeply flawed, I’m also deeply loved.

So in summary, I start with my mind, and change the way I think about your things. Changing the way I think will then affect my emotions and behavior.

Change is a Choice

In review of Ephesians 4:22 it says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception”

Bottom Line:

Get rid of your old self and the way you used to live. It was destroying you.

What this means to me:

Paul tells me to get rid of my old self, and my former way of life. This older self was being destroyed by its deceitful desires.

Today's verse comes from Ephesians 4 where Paul is speaking on living a children of light. He tells us to no longer live as the Gentiles do (hopelessly confused). They are full of darkness because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They live for lustful pleasure and practice every kind of impurity. But this isn't what we've learned from Christ. Paul tells us to throw off our sinful nature and former ways of life that is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead we are to let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. We are to put on our new nature, created to be like God.

So any change will require making a choice. It’s not enough to dream of changing and it’s not enough to desire change. In order for me to change, I need to make a decision. I must choose to change.

Change is intentional. If I want to be any different in six months, it will only happen if I choose to change, because it isn’t going to happen accidentally.

It requires a choice.

A lot of times it’s easy to think that I’m waiting on God to change me. What I’m learning is that God is waiting on me. He’s waiting on me to say, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing to make these changes.”

I need to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If I’m going to grow, I’ll have to change, and change means I let go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things.

This is much like swinging on a trapeze. The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then he has to reach out and grab the other one. At some point, he’s got to let go of one to grab on to the other, or he’s not going to make it to the other side. If he thinks he can hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he’s going down.

Today, I should consider if I’m stuck in the middle, ready to go down because I haven’t let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. I need to let go of my old ways.

Today’s verse reminds me to, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life” (Ephesians 4:22a NLT). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins in my life, let them go. Paul tells me to throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13b NIV).

Just last night I was thinking about my identity and who I am.  I believe a series of recent events has helped me once again realize that my identity and importance was being tied up in my role at work. I was getting a little to set up in defining who I am through this role.  A series of events had occurred, which disappointment from my clients has come about.  

It came to mind to me that my identity is simply that as a child of God, made in his image.  My purpose in life is to bring glory to him. I am to advance what He thinks is important. I am to share and introduce to others he brings into my life.

I don’t need to base my life on an identity in a career, job or role.  I am simply a servant who serves and makes life better for others.  This ties into today’s reminder regarding making a choice. I will choose to think of myself in this realm.