Free to Think
If we were mind readers, we would know how to deal with others. However, since we have not quite mastered that art, the only way to gauge someone is by their words and actions. Through my personal experiences, I discovered that a God-controlled mind actually goes through spiritual heart surgery. My mind needed major surgery because of spiritual decline. Actually, I needed a divine heart transplant to correct my stinkin' thinkin'. The Holy Spirit helped me understand the adjustments I needed to make in order to throw off the shackles of a worldly mind-set and become a freethinker in Christ. My mental cravings and emotional responses were all wrong; I was self-serving. The Spirit changed my heart but not through any natural law or design on my part. It was born from gradual steps of prioritizing the right things that helped me transform from self-serving bend to a God-serving attitude. Talk about an adjustment.
Pondering: Have you ever stepped back from your relationship with God? You know, storing your Bible in the closet for a few months; busy with kids activities, committees, or household chores. Most women tend to take on too much. We get busy with all that life demands and forget to make time for ourselves. Life erupts into chaos and clutter. There was a long season in my relationship with God when I grew week from a lack of spiritual nutrients. My heart was starving as I drifted in and out of a stormy life and muddled through a thick unholy fog.
Coaching: Life can feel strange when a woman saved by grace is living outside her relationship with the Lord. To be out of touch with Jesus is a huge step backwards often caused by stinkin' thinkin'. James calls those 'out of fellowship' unstable and illustrates their condition by using a wave on the sea. Picture a tidal wave building up such momentum that when it crashes on shore the force destroys everything in its path. The damage comes from a destructive undercurrent created by an earthquake releasing the dangerous wave. The same thing happened to me. By allowing a painful incident to build into a mental earthquake, stinkin' thinkin' invaded my mind and started the inevitable tidal wave. It was like loosing control to a force I could not stop. If we allow ungodly thoughts to churn in our minds, we give permission for a dangerous mental undercurrent to cause destruction within our hearts. This, in turn, will seriously affect our relationships with family and friends.
Here is what I discovered worked when I need to change my thinking:
- The moment negative thoughts strike, nip it in the bud.
- Confess wrong thoughts and ask God to take away negative thinking.
- Ask God to protect your mind.
- Thank and praise God for His help.
- Show faith by the practice of pleasant thoughts.
- Read the Word and pray daily.
"For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:7-8 NASB).
God changes our thought process and puts us on the road to positive thinking. We are no longer fearful or timid. As a result, we become powerful through love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Slowly we build a sound and disciplined mind. However, this is not a passive process. The discipline of a sound mind must feed on the nutrients of prayer, God's Word, and silence in His presence. In (Philippians 2: 5) we read that our mind will be the mind of Christ. The Greek is in the present tense, meaning a command to have the mind of Christ all the time. The only way to do that is to become aware of negative thoughts and dismiss them immediately though voluntary mental practice and prayer. Get into the Word of God. The Bible is healing to the mind and emotions... read, study, devour it. Pray before and after you read, for deep understanding and wisdom.
Our mental cravings change as we pass the barrier of problem thinking, into the influence of the Spirit. When we begin to absorb His divine authority we realize that everything we need is in God's Word; He left nothing out. First, we must decide to become freethinkers through Christ. Once we understand we are giving nothing up and that Christ paid for all our needs, an indescribable joy floods the mind through a change in thinking empowered by the Spirit. This process becomes a discipline that we learn to use whenever negative thoughts plague us; the result is an attitude change. I hope you are not like me. I hit bottom before realizing how serious it is to walk away from the Lord. However, He brought me back by pulling and tugging until I listened. Now, He is my best bud, our relationship is restored and I am serving Him full time loving every minute of teaching, writing, and counseling women. Like any good parent, God watches after us and brings us back into His care.
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Philippians 2;3 NASB).
Challenge: This week look deep inside. Is there an undercurrent building that could lead you away from Christ? Are negative thought influencing relationship, and your purpose? List different areas of your life (time, money, talents, etc.) and prayerfully assess if God is getting your best or your leftovers. Choose one area to be obedient and decide on changing your thinking process. You can stay in upheaval or ask God for help to change wrong mental attitudes. Of course, the decision is yours. Think about it. It is between you and God rather you are ready to become a freethinker. Are you ready for change?
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