Change Your Thinking Pattern

Your mind is very important. It’s the door to your spirit, and it’s also the door from your spirit out, to bring something into the natural world. “Be ye transformed (metamorphosed) by the renewing of your mind….” This means you exchange your thoughts for God’s thoughts; you cast away your carnal thinking, your fleshly ideas, and receive His glorious thoughts and ideas. The latter part of it says, “…that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The word “prove” is from the Greek – dokimazo— meaning to scrutinise or examine. Simply, it’s like the Customs official who’s assigned the responsibility of disallowing illegal exports and imports- interdiction of contrabands. Once he sees such, he disallows it from entering the country. That’s what that scripture is making us understand as the result of renewing the mind.

You’re able to “prove,” that is, scrutinise the thoughts you allow to go through your mind, to be sure they’re consistent with God’s Word and His perfect will for your life. Now that you’re born again, you’re required to think excellence and only see pictures of excellence. Focus your mind on things that are pure, just, honest, lovely, virtuous, and of good report (Philippians 4:8). You can’t afford to continue with the old way of life; you’re different now. Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” It’s expressing the same thought: think and live differently now that you’re a child of God. As you do this, you’d be giving vent to the glory in your recreated human spirit; the beauty of the Spirit in you will be revealed on the outside in an ever-increasing measure. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

After you’ve given your life to Christ, you’ve got a responsibility. The Bible tells us not to be like the rest of the world. Don’t conform to the world’s standards and ways of doing things. Be different. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That means, change your way of thinking; have a new mindset. If you want to see increased manifestation of the glory of God in your life, you must keep renewing your mind with the Word. Before you became a Christian, you heard and spoke words from the world; words that you learnt from your friends, from school, your environment, the members of your family, etc. Sometimes they were bitter words, angry words, and harsh words. Some other times, they were nice words.

However, God gives us words that are more than “nice”; words of the Kingdom, with which to transform our lives from glory to glory. As you study and yield yourself to the ministry of the Word, your spirit is inundated with divine truths; your mind is elevated to think Kingdom thoughts. This is why learning and meditating on the Word is so important. God’s Word gives you a new way of thinking. Whereas you used to think of failure, fear, lack, and want, the Word gives you the mindset of success, excellence, victory, dominion, and abundance. Now that you’re in Christ, refuse to be conformed to this world; rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Renew your thinking with the Word. By hearing the Word of God and digesting it into you, you develop new thoughts.

One of the major reasons many are defeated in life is their thinking. When they don’t think right, they can’t act right, and their minds are held in bondage. Nevertheless, with the transforming power of God’s Word, the limits are broken. So, set your mind on the Word and let it transform your life. Progress is something everybody wants. Success, and greater levels of success, is the desire of every human person. Yet, this remains an elusive phenomenon for many because they haven’t acted on the Word.

The Word of God is clear on how to have a fruitful, productive, and efficient life of success: it’s by the renewing of your mind, not by the renewing of your environment, wardrobes, homes, or bank accounts. Why is your mind so important? It’s because God has fashioned the mind as the instrument for your transformation. Your mind is unlimited in its potential to create whatever you desire. When you put your mind to work, the possibilities are endless. There are no limits to what you can achieve, and absolutely no restrictions to how high you can propel yourself in life. Your prosperity is essentially determined by the content and quality of your mind, because with your mind, you can change anything about you! You can establish a perfect structure and administration for your life, and enjoy to the utmost the special life and blessings God has given you.

Open your mind to God’s Word through study and meditation. Don’t just gloss over or leaf through the pages of the Bible; study! 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Through conscious meditation on the Word, your mind is organized, reorganized, programmed or reprogrammed. Its contents and processes are synchronized with God’s thoughts and perfect will for your life. That’s what brings about the transformation.

Remember, who you are today is a function or expression of the contents and workings of your mind. Through God’s Word, you can work on your mind and change its contents, and that change will show up in your life as an upgrade, reflecting in your character and the results you have in life.