"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." - Romans 12:2
People spout saying like be transformed and renew your mind but are the meanings of these sayings honestly understood? If you've been wondering what it means, or how you can apply this to your own life, keep reading. In this article, we'll discuss what it means to renew the mind and to truly live in abundance.
So what does "renew the mind" mean?
To renew the mind means to clear out all the old junk, and to replace that with health-filled thoughts and beliefs. Before we go deeper, let's take a look at another scripture that can help us to understand this.
Philippians 2:5 reads, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
When we put this verse of scripture together with the scripture we started with in Romans, we can start to see a clearer picture of how our minds can be renewed. If you've ever heard the expression when you change you mind, you transform your life, you have heard God's word essentially summed up.
The sad reality is that many of us have been conditioned or programmed to think and believe certain ways. Just take a moment to reflect on your life. How many beliefs have you taken on from family members, friends, teachers, ministers, spiritual guides, etc?
Think about your beliefs surrounding finances, the way the world is setup. The way the world runs. Think about your beliefs about what you look like. Think about your beliefs about what you can accomplish in this life. Then consider how many of those beliefs are from you making a decision to believe those things versus you believing them because of something that has happened in your life, or because of something someone told/taught you.
How many of the beliefs you hold are from you choosing to believe them? How many are from other people, situations, circumstances?
Look At Jesus
When we study Jesus' life and teachings, we learn that he worked to groom people to believe that anything was possible with God. He showed us how to have hope. Jesus demonstrated to us that healing, change, and miracles should be part of our everyday lives.
So, when we consider all the "junk" that we've allowed to pile up in our minds, we can see just how necessary it is to renew our minds.
Look At Children
Jesus told us to consider the children. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." This is a major verse to think about. What does he mean by this? I interpret this to mean that unless we return to a childlike state of belief, dependency, and wonderment, we will be in a world of trouble, relying on ourselves and others to "make something happen".
If we're honest, we've been bombarded with messages of grinding, hustling, and making things happen for ourselves. But God says throughout His word that we are to depend on Him for guidance and advancement. Consider the following scripture:
"Except the LORD build the house, They labour in vain that build it: Except the LORD keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain." - Psalm 127:1
I'm not sure what thoughts come to mind when you read this scripture, but it tells me that we're only spinning our wheels to no avail, unless we include God in our plans and execution.
Understand this, and everything will come clear for you...
The rules are different for those of us who are reserved for God. By "reserved" I mean that we've accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, and have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. When we decide to rock with God, we're accepting His way of life. And guess what...that way is different from the way of the world.
This is why it seems that we can't win doing what other people do. We were designed to do something different. We were designed to stand out. We were designed to think differently.
Revisiting the thought of studying Jesus, we learn through his teachings that he came to shake up the world. Everything he taught was seemingly backwards. He said that the first would be last and that the last would be first. He said that those who humble themselves would be lifted up, but that those who made themselves big would be humbled. He changed the meaning of what we thought strength and power to be.
So when we seek to renew our minds, we have to look at Jesus and adopt his way of thinking and of living.
How to Renew The Mind
So, now that you have a better understanding of what it means to renew the mind, we can discuss what renewing the mind entails.
If you want to renew your mind and transform your life, you will need to do the following:
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Take control of your thoughts.
Taking control of your thoughts means to be proactive in monitoring the thoughts that enter into your mind, rather than allowing every thought to occupy space and to potentially take root in your mind. Start thinking about what you think about, and make decisions to dismiss or to keep a thought. -
Surround yourself with more positive things, people, thoughts, etc.
Paul wrote in Philippians 4 that we should think on things that are "true, just, pure, and lovely. Considering this, we can determine whether the people, places, entertainment, conversations, etc. that we surround ourselves with are positive or otherwise.
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Look to Jesus.
In order for us to have a mind like Jesus, we have to know what he thought and taught, so that we can follow in his footsteps. We also need to employ God's help and guidance in making changes to our minds. This is definitely something we are unable to do through willpower alone.
Allow this article to be your guide in getting started on the journey to renew your mind and to ultimately transform your life. I suggest capturing your thoughts, and writing them down. You can actively work toward ridding yourself of thoughts that don't serve you, and accepting thoughts that lead you in the direction you desire for yourself and your life.
