Renewed Thinking

While we were in Bulgaria recently one of the places we stayed at was in our friends’ apartment on the first (or second – depends whether you count the levels from 0 or 1) floor. On opening the main door to the apartment block, it was immediately noticeable that there were no bannisters for stairs. What was my immediate reaction? PANIC!!

I realised that my brain and thinking was conditioned to think that without banisters on the staircase, it was unsafe. Fear immediately set in – because, again, my brain told me that if I ventured too close to the unprotected side of the stairs, I was like to tumble over and injure myself severely. So how did I counteract that fear – by hugging the wall side of the stairs, and walking up and down the stairs SLOWLY. Once inside the apartment, the fear also told me that I didn’t want to leave the safety of the apartment so that I didn’t have to go through the panic again.

But we needed to negotiate that staircase in order to go out to the meetings, shopping and just to get around. I had to overcome the fear somehow.

After about 5 days I realised that I felt more confident. “A” commented I was getting faster on stairs and I realised that as I moved up and down the stairs and didn’t have an accident, I ‘renewed my mind’ as to the safety factor. It took confidence and trust to renew my mind. And experience and repetitiveness was changing my reality. (By the end of our stay there I still wasn’t entirely confident, but I was more confident than on the first day).

I often refer to Romans 12:2 {Amplified Bible, Classic Edition - “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”

The Passion Translation – “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”}, but I think I began to understand this verse a little better after having climbed stairs without bannisters.

Renewing our mind is so important in the Christian life. Too much of what we do or say or believe is based on our worldly upbringing, knowledge or habits. Too much of how we apply Kingdom Culture is tainted with worldly culture. 

How do we renew our mind – well it’s a little bit like how I had to adapt to walking up and down stairs with a great chance of falling over them if I wasn’t careful. 

1.  Become aware of the dangers – Scripture warns us that there are many dangers surrounding us, not least the danger of the devil trying to convince us that living a Kingdom Lifestyle is not worth it. We overcome this by knowing the Word of God, and by believing the truth of the Word.

2.  Declare the Truth – We only believe the truth of the Word when we apply that truth. Making spoken declarations of the truth is what helps us to renew our mind. When we speak out (not just think it) what God and the Word says about us, our faith gets released and we grow! “Declaring the word is loudly speaking the word over yourself and speaking the truth of God’s word into your life. When you say it like you mean it, you will notice the spirit stirring up within you.” (https://dudedisciple.com/renew-your-mind/)

3.  Act on those truths – Begin to put into action what you are believing and declaring.  Just as I had to walk up and down those stairs a number of times in order that the things I was thinking could change, so we need to put into practice the truths of Scripture so that we start living them out.

It takes a choice, confidence and trust in order for us to live out the truths of Scripture. Sometimes we don’t even realise that we are living ungodly lifestyles because we’re so in the habit. We need to check with Holy Spirit if there is anything we are believing and living that is contrary to Scripture. We seem to be very good at twisting Scripture to suit our own ends and needs, thereby endorsing our lifestyles – but that isn’t Kingdom Living. We use the ‘reason’ that some things were for Old Testament times and not relevant today. A very good place to start in these instances is to ASK GOD and then to start applying to our lives what He says.

Renewing our mind to Kingdom thinking and living also takes repetition.  They say it takes 40 days for a new habit to form – why then do we think we can do it in one day? Let’s give ourselves grace and work out the new Kingdom thinking and living on a DAILY BASIS.

Fear can stop us. Familiarity can stop us. Lack of trust in the outcome can stop us.  Bad habits and wrong thinking can stop us. That’s why Bible says to renew our minds to a Kingdom Culture and to be transformed by Holy Spirit, which will empower us to live a beautiful, Godly, and confident Kingdom life.  Let’s come in line with the Word and live our lives to the glory of God.

Be blessed as you do.

Jean

If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others