Your thought life is your life. What you think about the most is what you live. We are a product of all the things that swirl through our heads. If you want to change your life, it must always begin with what you’re thinking about. God can help you transform your thoughts.
The life you live is the result of the thoughts you have. “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24 NKJV).
We tend to gravitate to the negative in our lives. We think about all that is wrong and all that could go wrong, and that is the lens through which we will then see everything. When our focus is on the negative, it is the negative we will see in everything.
The attitude you have is your heart displayed. “In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8 CJB).
We focus on the faults in others so that we don’t have to do the same in ourselves. We want to think we are better than we are, so we try to find where someone else is beneath us. We spend all our time thinking we know better when it is us who really need to be changed.
The first step towards changing yourself is to stop focusing on the faults of everyone else. “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:4-5 ESV).
Jesus knows what you are thinking. He knows the hidden things about you. Not just the wrong thoughts you have but the negative ones which consume you. He sees your thoughts as if they were written out before Him. There are no secrets with an all-knowing God.
Stop entertaining thoughts that don’t belong in your head. “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5 ICB).
The wonder of it all is that even though Jesus knows every wrong thought that we have, He still loves us. He wants us to be made new, to be born again, to be born from above, and to have our spirit come alive within us. It is by the Holy Spirit we can be made new if only we would let Him.
The Holy Spirit will change you as much as you’re willing to let Him. “…be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think…” (Romans 12:2 TPT).
You will do what you are committed to doing. If you want to live differently, then you must be committed to thinking differently. You can think differently if you will allow the Holy Spirit to help you. The changing of our minds will not come naturally but must be done supernaturally.
When it comes to asking God to change you, be daring in your prayers. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).
When we think about the Lord, we will be thinking in the right direction. With our minds focused on Christ, our thoughts will be standing on a solid foundation. If we want to have peace in our minds, we must have the Lord Jesus in our thoughts.
The measure of your peace is the measure your mind is on God. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT).
One habit I started years ago was to end each day by writing down three things that I am thankful for. It creates a pattern of thinking on which I go to sleep each night. The lens of thankfulness will cause you to find something to be thankful for every day.
The quality of your life depends on the quality of your thinking. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).
Another habit I formed years ago was to rebuke any negative or ungodly thought that does not belong in my head. I will cast the thought from my mind in the Name of Jesus, by His authority. We must not entertain those thoughts that have no place in the kingdom of God.
The more you entertain a thought, the deeper the relationship becomes. Jesus taught us, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28 NKJV).
Determine in your will today to start thinking holy thoughts, good thoughts, and thoughts that would belong in heaven. Think about the things in your life to be thankful for. Think about the best things in those around you. Think of those things that would please the Lord for you to be thinking about them.
To be kinder in your words, you must first be kinder in your thoughts. Jesus said, “…What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45 NLT).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius