Be Renewed

November 25, 2009

When I was younger, I was a hypochondriac. Every bump, bruise, or pain I felt on my body was certainly a disease or illness. I focused my thoughts on such negative outcomes, that at times I would end up in the emergency room only for doctors to find absolutely nothing wrong with me. All the worry leading up to "nothing" was stressful, and certainly didn’t help me experience emotional health or happiness in my life!

It wasn’t until I became a Christian and began reading my Bible that my thoughts began to change. The seeds of God’s Word began to penetrate in my spirit and soul, providing me the power to change my thought life.

My mind embarked on a journey of renewal! One of the first verses that I discovered was in Ephesians 4:23-24 (Amplified); “Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]. And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness." The time I spend reading my Bible and being surrounded by teachers of the Word teaches me that believers can have a positive thought life without becoming slaves of fear by conjuring up every worse case scenario we can imagine.

As part of the learning process, I realize that renewed thinking does not happen overnight. I constantly renew my mind daily (and sometimes moment-by-moment) because fearful thoughts will cause me to worry about nothing. The word constantly means "persistently" or "all the time"; hence, our mind needs to be at all times renewed (improved or transformed).

In the past, I created a bad habit of letting my thought life work on the “what if” in a negative way, as oppose to believing for the best outcome no matter what my symptoms were at the time. Rather than praying for the situation to get better, I wouldn’t pray at all. That's probably because I didn’t know how to pray and instead began to entertain thoughts that produced worry and fear.

Old habits are hard to break, especially when you’ve trained yourself to react a certain a way. Lots of people go through life harboring the same old habits, but wishing that their circumstances would somehow be different. It’s like saying, you want to lose 25 pounds while continuing unhealthy eating patterns and not doing anything to achieve different results.

In the same way, we can’t expect to have a positive outlook on life when we embrace negative thoughts in the cradle of our minds. Thoughts are a unending parade throughout our day. Stress in our daily life can trigger negative thoughts such as fear, anxiety, and worry. However, we have the power to control what thoughts we want in our life.

I had to ask myself this question: Do I want to entertain these negative thoughts? I had to decide if I wanted to resist these thoughts that exercised such power to evoke fear, anxiety, and worry. The answer was obvious. I wanted a healthier mental attitude brought on by a renewed mind.

Another verse that ministered to me and set me free during my journey of renewal was 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASV); “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

That’s exactly what I started doing! A renewed mind takes every negative thought captive. I speak to those negative thoughts that desire to keep me in bondage. “You will not have control over me; I will not conform to you. I am transformed by the renewing of my mind. My mind is blessed and my thoughts are thoughts that produce life.” How long does this journey take? It's a daily trip. Even almost twenty years after reading these verses that set my mind free, there are times when I still have to fight negative thoughts; renewal is a daily process. We must constantly strive to have a fresh mental attitude.

You see, the devil wants nothing more than to get into our thought life. He understands well that if he can dominate our thought life, he can paralyze us from moving forward and keeping from fulfilling our call and destiny.

I am living healthier and happier today mentally and emotionally, because I chose to take a journey of having my mind renewed and dealing with my thought life. Boy, what goes on between your two ears is pretty powerful. Be renewed and begin to live a victorious life!