Some friends and I were discussing how what you think affects your entire life. It has an effect on your emotions, your actions, your wellbeing and even your relationships. Yet somehow, we rarely try to regulate or control what we’re thinking. It’s no wonder that Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV). This is why the lies that go unregulated in your mind often feel like identity. There’s power in positive thinking, but God wants to do more in your life than to have you think positively. He wants to transform you from the inside out. That begins with what goes on in your mind.
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). What’s beautiful about this is that it is an ongoing thing in your life that is not behavior modification. It’s a transformation of who you are from the inside out. It happens both instantaneously and progressively at the same time. It’s a work that God does in us, but it’s also something we have to let Him do in our lives. It starts with deciding to regulate what we think about and what we’re dwelling on.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” What Paul describes here is mental stewardship. It’s not something that is passive. Just as we are to take every thought captive, we are also to fix our thoughts on things that point us back to Christ. I question the thoughts that come after I capture them. Are the true? Do they line up with what the Bible says? If not, I don’t allow my mind to dwell on them. It’s about being intentional with what I allow in my mind because that the area God uses to transform my life into His will. Our enemy wants to control that battleground too. Don’t surrender that ground. Choose to be intentional with your thoughts and watch how God transforms every aspect of your life.
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Devotions by Chris Hendrix 