If I Want to Change, I Need to Change My Thinking

In review of Ephesians 4:23 it says, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”

Bottom Line:

Let the Spirit renew and change your way of thinking

What this means to me:

I should let the Holy Spirit living within to help me change my thought, attitudes and way of thinking.

Any change in my life will require new thinking. In order to change, I must learn the truth and start making good choices, but also change the way I think.

The way I think determines the way I feel, and the way I feel determines the way I act. If I want to change the way I act, I start by changing the way I think. In addition, if I want to change the way I feel, I must start with the way I think.

I can’t just say, “I need to love ____ more.” It’s not enough to will my way into a feeling. I just first change the way I think about it. That will help change the way I feel, which will then change the way I act toward it. This verse reminds me to, “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23 NLT, second edition).

The battle for sin, the battle to deal with the defects in my life that I don't like, will all start in my mind. In order to change anything in my behavior or emotions, I would start with my thoughts and attitude.

The renewal of my mind is related to the word "repentance." Many think repentance is something bad, something they don't really want to do, something painful. Also the vision of a guy standing on a street corner with a sign that says, “Repent! The world's about to end!"

What I’m learning is that repentance has nothing to do with my behavior. It is about changing my mind and learning to think differently. “Repent” simply means to make a mental U-turn.

I turn from guilt to forgiveness. I turn from frustration to freedom, from darkness to light, from hatred and bitterness to love.

I may also need to change the way I think about God. He's not mad at me; he’s mad about me! I’m deeply flawed, but I’m also deeply loved.

I need to start with my mind, and then change the way I think about my relationships, the economy, the world, and my past, present, and future. Changing the way I think will then affect my emotions and your behavior.

It’s difficult to change on my own, I need to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit that God has already implanted in me and allow him to renew the way I think! Today, I thank you God for providing the Holy Spirit in my life to help provide me with promptings and guidance. I need to stop making assumptions about the way things are and begin to look at life from a different perspective, one through God’s eye’s. I can know more about how God would look at things by continuing a pursuit to know God and my savior Jesus even more. I may need to make some “u-turns” in order to renew my thinking.