The mind of the believer is so crucial, Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”. We must ask ourselves, is our mindset in line with God’s Word or not? Many people today are living in a lifestyle of fear, bondage, worldliness, and defeat. Sometimes we can even be unstable in our minds and emotions, one day we are joyful and the next day we are struggling with irritability. None of these are a part of God’s redemptive plan. Paul tells us very clearly in 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT), “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”. We must realize that fear, anxiety, and depression are from the devil. Jesus gave us authority over the devil in His Name (Mark 3:15, Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 10:19, and 1 John 2:13-14).
Romans 12:2 (NLT) tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”. This is a verse that I believe every single one of us must continually grow in, even myself. The believer is to have a totally different mindset and lifestyle than the unbeliever. There should be nothing normal about the Christian mindset or lifestyle, when compared to the rest of the world. Our thoughts and lifestyle should continually be put in subjection to the Word of God, we can achieve this by renewing our minds, by getting into the Word of God daily.
Paul even instructs us in Colossians 3:2 (NIV), “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”. We often get so caught up in automatically accepting a worldly report on our circumstances, rather than going to the Word of God. We need to come to the place where we do not run to the world is not our first resort in a time of crisis, but when God is our first and only resort. Philippians 4:8 (NIV) tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”. We are to only set our mind on things that are praiseworthy, if it is not praiseworthy then do not even think about it!
Jesus Christ will return one day, I cannot say when or whether it will be in my lifetime or not, but He will return one day. When Jesus returns, He is not coming for a defeated church, He is coming for a victorious church! How can the church of Jesus Christ be victorious if the people are in a place of mental defeat? We need to continually renew our minds daily, by reading and meditating on the Word of God. We need to speak the Word of God into our lives and the lives of others for the Glory of God.