Part 11 (2/2)
As I thought about it, I realized that's exactly how our lives work. Once we decide the form, the function follows. This could be stated another way: Once we set our minds to something-that's the form-the function, or the action, follows. Many people want to change their actions but not their thoughts. They want to be free from anger, gossip, l.u.s.t, dishonesty, or lying. They want the bad behavior to stop, but they don't want to change their bad thinking.
The principle of G.o.d's Word is simple: Right action follows right thinking. None of us ever walks in victory unless we understand and put this principle into practice. We won't change our behavior until we change our way of thinking.
Many people struggle over trying to do the right thing. One woman told me she had been a real gossip-not that her words were always evil, but she just liked to talk. It was as if she felt compelled to be the first person to know anything and then to pa.s.s it on as quickly as possible. She struggled with holding back or saying less, and it frequently ended up causing trouble.
My advice to her was, ”Until you change your way of thinking, you won't be free.” Then I said I would be glad to pray for her, but added, ”You must be accountable.”
She interrupted me and quickly said, ”I am-and I will be.” I could tell she didn't really hear me so I said, ”No, you haven't heard me. You want deliverance from all the gossip, but you don't want to make any changes in your thinking. It just doesn't work that way. You need deliverance in your mind; then your words and actions will change.”
She resisted my words, but she did ask me to pray for her, which I did. When I finished, she began to cry. ”As you prayed, I understood. G.o.d showed me that the root of my problem is how insignificant and unimportant I feel. When I'm the first to pa.s.s on information, it makes me feel good-at least for a while-and important.”
She had to s.h.i.+ft her thinking and learn to accept that she was worthwhile and loved by G.o.d just for being who she was. Once she learned to change her way of thinking-and she did over the course of weeks-she no longer had these problems with her tongue.
It's impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an att.i.tude adjustment, which means we first must change the way we think.
I like the way Paul contrasted the old nature with the renewed mind. In Ephesians 4:2224, he admonishes his readers: ”Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life. . . . And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual att.i.tude], and put on the new nature.” Another translation puts it this way: ”Let the Spirit change your way of thinking, and make you into a new person . . .” (vv. 2324 CEV).
It's impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an att.i.tude adjustment, which means we first must change the way we think.
There it is: Let the Holy Spirit change your way of thinking. That's the only way you can make permanent changes in your life.
CHAPTER 48.
Be Thankful-Always Someone once told me there are more exhortations in the Bible to praise G.o.d than there are of any other kind. I don't know if that's true, but it ought to be. When our minds flow with thanksgiving and praise, we develop immunity to the devil's infectious ways.
If we complain or grumble, the opposite is true. The more we complain, the worse life gets, the more victorious the devil becomes, and the more defeated we feel. It is interesting to note as we study the history of the nation of Israel, this kind of negative att.i.tude was the major problem causing them to wander in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. We may call it by many names, but G.o.d called it unbelief.
G.o.d's att.i.tude is if His people really believe Him and continue to have faith in Him, then no matter what happens in life they will know He is big enough to handle it and to make it work out for their good. Joy and peace are found in believing, not in murmuring, grumbling, finding faults, or complaining. If we are going to live in victory, praise has to be one of our major weapons. A wise pastor once told me, ”Praise fills the heaven and the earth with G.o.d's presence and drives away the darkness. So if you want to live in the suns.h.i.+ne, praise the Lord.”
When good things happen to us, most of us turn to praise. It's easy to lift our hands and our voices when G.o.d answers our prayers and delivers us from problems. It's not always easy when things go wrong or we have to wait for an answer. What do we do when we're sick or lose our jobs or people talk against us? How do we fill our minds with joyful thanksgiving in the midst of those situations?
Two verses give us options. First Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, ”Thank [G.o.d] in everything [no matter what the circ.u.mstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of G.o.d for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will],” and Philippians 4:4 says, ”Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!”
The negative option is to take the att.i.tude of Job's wife, who was so shaken up by the loss of her children and their possessions that she cried out, ”Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce G.o.d and die!” (Job 2:9).
Job answered with great wisdom: ”You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of G.o.d and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature?” (v. 10). Job understood a righteous life doesn't mean everything always runs smoothly and only blessings fall on top of blessings.
We have two positive options open to us. Most of us can practice the first, but not all of us can accept the second. The first is to praise G.o.d in spite of what's going on in our lives. Or another way to say that is in the midst of our troubles and hards.h.i.+ps, we can choose to look for things that are not wrong and rejoice over them. It may take effort, but if we can turn our eyes away from the immediate problems, we can see that everything in life isn't bad. We can also rejoice because G.o.d has faithfully taken us through the turmoil of the past, and we can rejoice and know He will do the same thing again.
G.o.d is not the Author of our troubles, but He may well use them to help us become better people.
The second option when circ.u.mstances are difficult is to ask, ”G.o.d, what can I learn from this? What do You want to teach me through this so I can be closer to You and rejoice more fully in Your goodness?” That's not an easy question, and the answers are often even harder. G.o.d is not the Author of our troubles, but He may well use them to help us become better people.
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