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And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 

that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and

perfect will of God. 

~ Romans 12:2



Good morning beautiful sister!

As I wrote that, my immediate thought was, what if someone doesn’t feel so beautiful today? Then, my second thought was that’s exactly why we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds! You are beautiful, my sister! And I hope by the time you finish reading this, you will believe that too! Praise God!

So, how do we go about renewing our minds? This world can be a pretty depressing place sometimes, and a lot of people are concerned about changing their thought patterns. I’ve read, even from Christian authors, that this process of changing our inner thoughts is a long and difficult process. In layman’s terms I’ve heard it expressed something like the following. 

When we remember something, it makes a tiny mark on our brain. As we recall that thought, it makes a little deeper impression. The more times we remember and even speak it, the deeper the impression gets. The deeper the impression gets, the more easily we speak it, until ultimately we will speak it without even consciously thinking about remembering it!

This is great if we’re talking about memorizing God’s word or recalling what He has done in our lives, but perhaps not so great if we’re constantly reinforcing thoughts that are against God’s perfect will for us.

It makes me think about how many times in my daily life I reject a thought or an idea that may even come from God because of the automatic “I don’t think I can do that” track that’s been impressed in my brain. Same with “I don’t want to take that risk” or the infamous laundry list of: “I give ups" ...trying to remember Scripture (where is it in the Bible again?), to keep the house clean (it’s all gonna burn someday), to be nice to that person (I just don’t have the energy anymore, they don’t like me much anyway)”. 

Sound familiar? Are you concerned that perhaps those thoughts are embedded too deeply in your psyche? Or that the negative thoughts have become a habit for so long that it’s going to be difficult to erase them? Are you thinking right now, “Ugh, not again! I’ve failed so many times already!” It’s true, we’ve failed, but we know Someone who never, ever fails!  Embed that in your brain! Your heavenly Father will never, ever fail you! Even the stuff that goes on in your head! 

Allow yourself to be transformed by the renewing of your mind every single time those bonds of failure try to entangle you again! Give them up to Him! One by one, every time they come up!

As you replace thoughts of condemnation with the grace and mercy of God, you will find yourself becoming more free, more content, more thankful as you trade your fears for courage, your weaknesses for diligence, your struggles for faith, your anxieties for peace! Victory has to come from God because we don’t have the ability to conquer these things by the power of our own will!

To whatever degree our minds are not renewed, we prove what the will of this world is, what the will of our fallen nature is. But you, dear sister, are born again with a new nature, the nature of Christ! Just as the Holy Spirit of God is alive in you, allow your mind to be renewed by Him everyday so that you may prove what is the good and acceptable will of God for YOU, not only in your body, but also your thoughts as well!

And as far as the length of the battle, in God, transformation happens in the blink of an eye! Think of Jesus’ transformation on Mt Sinai (Mark 9:2-3) or Paul’s example of renewing our minds as we behold the glory and wonder of God! (1 Cor 3:18) There may be a lot of blinks as we give up the lies we have been bound with, but you will find, as you begin to prove the power of God’s will in your mind and actions, those lies have less and less power in your life!

You are no longer conformed to this world, dear sister! You are a child of God! His promise in Isaiah 26:3 is that He will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is fixed on Him! That is a great, big promise, but we serve a great, big God! 

So, the next time you hear yourself say “that’s just the way I am, think or do”, consider for a moment, is that the way of God’s will for you or your own? Allow God to set you free from the limitations and boundaries you set for yourself! He has created you for more!

God bless you my dear sister! Keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste