Part 5 (2/2)
I thought of the instructions to Joshua as he prepared to lead the people into the Promised Land. The first few verses of the book of Joshua provide G.o.d's direction for him. There were at least two million people going into the land, and the responsibility of leading them was immense.
Contemplating the meaning of scripture is G.o.d's command to all of us and a requirement for true success.
G.o.d promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses, and He urged the new leader to be very courageous. Then He said, This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success (Joshua 1:8).
The instructions seem clear. Joshua had the commands of G.o.d, and his primary responsibility was to contemplate those words. By immersing himself in the law, he was learning to understand the mind of G.o.d more fully. G.o.d went on to say that if Joshua kept his mind and heart on the law, he would be prosperous and successful.
Too often people focus on their problems instead of meditating on G.o.d's promises. As they do, their problems seem to get bigger, and G.o.d's power diminishes. Do you have a problem right now? If so, this is a great time to start practicing your new way of thinking. Think about a breakthrough, not a breakdown. Don't think about the way things are; think about the way they can be with G.o.d on your side.
G.o.d doesn't want Satan to fill your mind. He doesn't want you to give Satan the opportunity to inject wrong and negative thoughts into your head. For the devil to control your life, all he needs to do is to control your thoughts. Make a decision right now that you will not allow him to do that. Don't let him defeat you. Proverbs 4:2022 is another scripture that tells of the importance of meditation: ”My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (NKJV).
CHAPTER 22.
”I Want a Mind Change”
I find a great deal of comfort in thinking about who I used to be and who I have become. It helps me to not be discouraged when I make mistakes or find I still struggle over some issues. I'm greatly encouraged when I consider where I started and where I am now.
In Ephesians 2, Paul describes those outside Christ in verses 1 and 2 as dead (slain) by their trespa.s.ses and sins in which they habitually walk and writes that unbelievers follow the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, and they follow the way their master leads. He also pointed out that all were once dead through their sins, but believers are now alive in Jesus Christ and are not governed nor led by our lower nature-the impulses of our l.u.s.ts and unG.o.dly desires.
Many Christians have trouble in this area because they haven't learned to control their thoughts. A lady once told me, ”It simply didn't occur to me that I needed to direct my mind and keep it healthy and positive. If ministers preached or taught about the control of our thoughts, I never heard it. One day, however, I read an article about the power of thoughts, and G.o.d convicted me. That's when I knew I needed to change my thinking.”
This lady said she drove down the street of a busy city and spotted a sign, a cartoon of a car with big eyes for the front lights and tears flowing, and the words ”Please help me! I need an oil change.” As she pa.s.sed, she thought, I need a mind change. I don't like being the way I am, letting my mind go wherever it wants. Part of my responsibility as a child of G.o.d is to keep my thoughts healthy and strong.
”I want to make it clear that I went to church,” she said, ”and I had been active for years. I knew a lot of scripture, and I even did some volunteer work at the church. But I didn't control my thoughts. Even when I sang in church, my mind jumped from subject to subject. We'd be singing about joy and grace, and I'd think about the dishes still in the sink, the unfinished laundry, or what I wanted to eat for lunch.
”I attended church and I was faithful, but I was not faithful in attending to the Word. I listened when the preachers quoted scripture. I usually followed along with my own Bible, but I didn't really think about what I was hearing or what my eyes were reading. I was doing the right things outwardly, but I wasn't thinking the right things. My mind was a mess, and I didn't know what to do about it.”
When she finally said, ”I need a mind change” aloud to herself, she actually pondered the words she spoke. She was like the car on the sign-she needed a change-a mind change. She needed to let the Holy Spirit direct her thoughts instead of the devil. As she prayed, she felt confident there would be a positive change.
She thought to herself, Is there anything I am supposed to do? She realized that if she didn't make lifestyle changes, the devil would soon make the new thinking as muddy and gunky as the old thinking was.
For the next several days, she looked up all the scriptures she could find that used the word study or meditate. She also looked up scriptures that talked about the mind or thoughts. Among them were Proverbs 23:7, Ephesians 4:23, and Psalm 119:48. She read the verses, wrote them on slips of paper, and pondered them. The more she meditated on the right things, the less trouble she had with Satan trying to control her thoughts. That's how it works with all of us: The more we focus on G.o.d, the less often the devil can defeat us. Many people would love to have her result, but they don't want to do the work. Are you willing to do your part? If you are, I can a.s.sure you G.o.d will do His.
The more we focus on G.o.d, the less often the devil can defeat us.
CHAPTER 23.
Transforming Your Mind and Your Life The apostle Paul used two interesting words in Romans 12:2: conform, ”be not conformed to this world,” and transform, ”but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” for the result that you: ”may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of G.o.d” (KJV) ”[in His sight for you]” (AMP).
I asked a friend who is a Greek scholar to help me understand the difference between them. He told me the word translated conform referred to the outward form. For example, my outward form at age twenty was quite different from what I'll look like at age seventy. The body changes, but it was more than that. He said the Greek word carried the idea of the changes we make according to the fas.h.i.+on-what was in vogue at the time-much like the way our culture goes today. One year, skirt hems are above the ankle; another year, above the knee. Those things are constantly changing.
The word Paul used for being transformed from the world refers to the essential part of ourselves-the part that doesn't change, our ident.i.ty. He was saying that if we want to wors.h.i.+p and serve G.o.d, we must undergo a change-but not only of our outward form. The change must be inward, and it involves our personality, our mind, and our essential being. Outward fas.h.i.+ons may change, but inner purity is always in style.
The preceding verse, Romans 12:1, exhorts us to present ourselves to G.o.d as living sacrifices. Only Christians can do that. His words are not about becoming believers, but about living as believers. This scripture challenges us to present all of our members to G.o.d for His use. That means our mind, mouth, will, emotions, eyes, ears, hands, feet-all of us.
If we want to see G.o.d's perfect will proven in our lives, we can-but we have to have our minds transformed. We have to think different thoughts and look at life differently. We have to have disciplined minds. We must begin to think in agreement with G.o.d's Word and not the devil's lies.
Although G.o.d has a different plan for each one of us, one thing applies to all: We are to have inwardly transformed minds. If our minds are transformed by the Holy Spirit, we will act differently. When He began transforming my mind, I know I acted differently. Church became a place for me to celebrate and to learn with my brothers and sisters in the faith. I began to understand wors.h.i.+p, and I became a partic.i.p.ant rather than someone who simply went through the motions.
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