"Look to the LORD and to his strength. Always look to him. Remember the wonderful things he has done." (1 Chronicles 16:11-12a NIRV)
"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2 NLT)
The human mind has been called a battlefield, and oh my YES, do I feel like I wage war on it. Every. Single. Day.
It seems like I’m always fighting my mind: fighting to think about things above, not earthly things; fighting to not think about “that thing” I’ve already thought about ENOUGH ALREADY, for crying out loud; fighting to think about others instead of myself.
I know I need to renew my mind. I know I need to reprogram and redirect it.
At the risk of stating the obvious, "new" is a big part of renewing our minds: our minds need to go somewhere new, think of something new, take a new path.
I understand all this, but so often my mind gets stuck on the old: old thoughts, old patterns, old worries, old regrets. Still, there is at least one aspect of the "old" that can help me renew my mind: remembering what God has done. The prayers He has said "yes" to; the prayers He said "no" to that turned out to be a greater "yes" in disguise; the things He has provided; His faithfulness.
We act on what we remember, so when I direct my mind to recount the works of God in my life in the past, it encourages me to act in confident expectation of what He will do in the present and future.
The Alpha and Omega is God of the old and of the new. He is God of then and of now. He is God of what has been and what will be. When I intentionally turn my mind back to what He has already done, my hope for what He will do is fed.
The human mind has been called a battlefield, and oh my YES, do I feel like I wage war on it. Every. Single. Day.
It seems like I’m always fighting my mind: fighting to think about things above, not earthly things; fighting to not think about “that thing” I’ve already thought about ENOUGH ALREADY, for crying out loud; fighting to think about others instead of myself.
I know I need to renew my mind. I know I need to reprogram and redirect it.
At the risk of stating the obvious, "new" is a big part of renewing our minds: our minds need to go somewhere new, think of something new, take a new path.
I understand all this, but so often my mind gets stuck on the old: old thoughts, old patterns, old worries, old regrets. Still, there is at least one aspect of the "old" that can help me renew my mind: remembering what God has done. The prayers He has said "yes" to; the prayers He said "no" to that turned out to be a greater "yes" in disguise; the things He has provided; His faithfulness.
We act on what we remember, so when I direct my mind to recount the works of God in my life in the past, it encourages me to act in confident expectation of what He will do in the present and future.
The Alpha and Omega is God of the old and of the new. He is God of then and of now. He is God of what has been and what will be. When I intentionally turn my mind back to what He has already done, my hope for what He will do is fed.
Even knowing this, though, my mind sometimes draws a blank when I'm trying to recall God's past wonders. (My mind is, in fact, quite prone to drawing blanks.) But look: here comes God's name to the rescue again, filling in those mental spaces and renewing my mind in the process.
I remember the seas the God Who Makes a Way has parted.
I remember the victories the God of Battle has won for me.
I remember when my mind and spirit have heard from the God Who Speaks.
I remember the times the God of Letting Go has unclenched my fists.
I remember nights of grief visited by the God of Mourning.
I remember being broken by the God Who Breaks.
I remember being put back together by the God Who Mends.
We can choose to remember what God has already done. We can choose to be hopeful about what He's going to do. And in the choosing, our minds are renewed.
Oh God, Your name reminds and renews. Help me to make it known.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!