Renewing your mind transforms you

Have you ever tried to change a negative behavior? It’s difficult, isn’t it? Maybe you’ve tried to quit smoking or eating too many sweets. Have you ever struggled with negative thinking or insecurity? Perhaps addictions have controlled your life for far too long, and it’s hard to be free.

Paul the Apostle struggled with these same battles. In Romans, Paul confesses his embarrassing reality: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15, NIV) Yikes! Paul was so honest and vulnerable. The great apostle had struggles just like us. 

So, what can we learn from our battles with behaviors and emotions that embarrass us and hurt others? We’ve learned to go deeper. We’ve learned to go to the source of most of our sins and setbacks: our thoughts. 

The Bible reveals the secret of real personal transformation: renewing your mind. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)  

I’m sure you’ve read this verse many times, but do you know how to renew your mind? I’ve come up with a term that has helped me apply this to my life: we need to rewire our brains. We have hundreds of thousands of neurological connections in our brains and hearts. Our thinking creates neurological pathways that cause us to get stuck. We get into ruts. We develop wrong thinking that creates negative emotions; options; choices; and then finally, consequences. 

If you want to change your life, you will need to create new pathways and get rid of some of the old lies that have become toxic thought factories.

friend, it sounds like a daunting task, but I know God will help you as He helped me. In fact, I’ll take the next several days to help you begin your journey of rewiring your brain. It’s difficult but not impossible because you are a miracle. And God loves you more than the moon.