Tag Archives: changing how you think

Changing Your Destiny

I truly believe that the direction your life is going is based on the things you think about. What you choose to think about and dwell on becomes your mindset. It’s not a single thought that sets your course, but the ones you continually let rule your mind. Your mindset then becomes how you make decisions. Your decisions reveal what’s been going on inside because your decisions become your actions. Those actions then become your habits that are hard to break. Finally, your habits determine your destiny. If you want to change the trajectory of your life, you have to change what you consistently think about.

Let’s look at Psalm 23 through this lens. David reveals his thoughts in verses 1-2. “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams” (NLT). He sees God as his shepherd, leader and care giver. Next he says, “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” His mindset expects restoration from God. Verse 4 reveals his decision despite his circumstances. “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” God then prepares a table for him in the presence of his enemies where his actions and habits are based on his thoughts of God and not fear. Finally his destiny is “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Romans 8:5 says, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” Your thoughts also reveal your ruler. If your thoughts are selfish, prideful, revengeful, angry and full of worry, they’re not from the Holy Spirit. If your thoughts are true, honorable, right, pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8) your mind is controlled by the Spirit. It’s not easy to change your thought life, but it is possible through the Holy Spirit. When your thoughts don’t line up with the Bible, you must capture them and make them obedient to the Spirit (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Holy Spirit will help you make this transition so you can change to the destiny God has for you.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.

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Living In Freedom

I once heard the story that some scientists did an experiment with some fish. They took a predator fish and its prey and put them in the same tank. The predator ate the prey. The scientist then placed a piece of glass in the middle dividing the aquarium. They placed the prey on the other side of the glass. They predator repeatedly attacked, but kept hitting the glass. Each day it tried fewer and fewer times to go after the prey. When it quit trying, they removed the glass. They prey fish swam all over, but the predator never went after them. Whether the study is true or not, I don’t know, but the conditions of the mind is true.

Romans 12:2 says, “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” (NLT). You and I are raised and live in a society that lives in opposition to God’s way of living. Our minds are like the predator fish. We’ve been conditioned with the mindset of this world and its values. We are in need of transformation and renewal of our minds so that we can live the way God called us to live, which starts by changing how we think. Our thoughts direct our behavior, as referenced by the predator. God wants to continually transform us through our mindset.

1 Corinthians 7:23 says, “Since a great price was paid for your redemption, stop having the mind-set of a slave” (TPT). Once we receive Christ, we are set free from being slaves to sin and our fallen way of thinking and living. Even though we are free, we will have to continually fight against the glass in the tank mentality. That’s why we need God to renew our minds and our way of thinking. We often fall short of who He created us to be because we live with our old mindset. Pray today that God would transform your mind and way of thinking so that you can live the life you were created to live. Remember Galatians 5:1: “Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again” (GNT).

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

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Gaining Internal Confidence

The heart is known as the seat of our emotions. Our emotions dictate our words and actions. You can tell a lot about what’s in people’s heart simply by listening to them and watching their actions. When I hear people talk down to themselves or beat themselves up, it bothers me because it’s a reflection of how they truly feel about themselves. I went to compliment a kid recently about how well he performed and he replied, “I was terrible. I’m no good. I don’t know why I did it.” My heart broke because he’s already let his self talk destroy his confidence. I tried to speak life into him, but more than anything, he needed a change in his heart to readjust his thinking.

Proverbs 14:26 says, “Confidence and strength flood the hearts of the lovers of God who live in awe of him, and their devotion provides their children with a place of shelter and security” (TPT). It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when we have confidence and mental strength. So many of us struggle with an internal picture of who we are. We must remember that we are made in God’s image. The greater picture we have of God, the greater picture we will have of ourselves. A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength. To love Him with all of our heart, we need to know Him more. The more we know Him, the more we will live in awe of Him. It’s no coincidence that He listed the heart first. Everything stems from there: our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves and our relationship with others. If you need confidence in any of those areas, it starts with knowing God. You get to know Him more through reading the Bible, prayer and sitting quietly in His presence. Learning to do these three things won’t just change you, it’ll have a generational effect as well.

Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash

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