What we think about is so vital for a victorious and successful life. So often we try to adjust and correct our actions and reactions to life’s circumstances without realising that the roots of these issues lie in our thinking! Every action is preceded by a thought and unless we address and transform our thinking, we may never be able to successfully change our responses.
In the previous post, we discussed how our actions are directly affected by our thinking. Let’s continue looking at Bible verses that can help align our thoughts with God’s so that the right actions are outworked in our lives:
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
We often try to adjust & correct our actions and reactions to life’s circumstances without realizing that the roots of these issues lie in our thinking! Unless we address and transform our thinking, we may never be able to successfully change our…
As Christians, we must stop allowing the devil to influence our thinking and decision-making without any resistance! We should instead allow God to transform our minds daily—altering the way that we think so that our actions will lead us to push through obstacles and see the Kingdom of God come on Earth as it is in Heaven.
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.
As we set our minds on rejecting the thinking of this world and choosing instead to think like God thinks, He changes us into a brand new person. We begin to hear His voice more clearly above the noisy lies and confusion that constantly bombards our minds. Our decisions and actions start to tell a story about the change that is taking place in our minds. We do not act like we used to, confirming that our thinking is being transformed as we become more and more aware of His good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives. Wow! What motivation to start changing the way that we think!
Speaking of Jesus, wherever He went, He overcame every obstacle— no matter how impossible it seemed— because His thinking was in Kingdom-order and led Him to act in supernatural ways
That's what God wants for all of our lives. Even with the lockdowns and lack of freedoms we experience as a result of the pandemic, He has provided access to all of the power and anointing we need to see breakthrough come in our own lives and in the lives of others. The only thing that has the power to prevent us from taking hold of the supernatural resources we have available to us, is our thinking! Just like Jesus, we cannot afford to entertain the lies of the enemy and must instead, set our minds on thinking God-thoughts of freedom and breakthrough! As we think about and meditate on the possibilities, instead of the obstacles, we begin to act in faith and not fear.
I encourage you to read and meditate on the following Bible verses because I know the Word of God is more powerful than any opinion or human words I can offer you. God’s Word is alive, active and empowering, and we should be thinking about it constantly. More than ever before, NOW it is time to get our minds immersed in what God's Word says:
Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
This is how powerful thoughts are! We've got to take rebellious thoughts captive by force! So what are these rebellious thoughts? Any thought that defies God’s Word is considered rebellious. These include thoughts that we won’t be able to overcome a situation, that we’ll never be free of a bondage, that God will never heal us, that we’ll never fulfil our dreams, that we aren’t good enough, that we are destined to fail, or that God can’t or won’t forgive us...just to name a few. These thoughts are the very opposite of what God says and promises in His Word. He says that He has created us to be more than conquerors (see Roman 8:37) and that He has created us to overcome in the same way He overcame the world (see John 16:33). Just these two verses alone immediately negate any lie that we will never break through in some area of our lives, giving us the tenacity and determination to press on and through any situation, knowing that the outcome is assured. The only prerequisite to living a victorious life, is intentionally thinking like God thinks!
Some of these rebellious thoughts are very persistent, bombarding our minds relentlessly and inhabiting every part of our thinking until we start to believe them and in turn, come under the bondage of fear and depression. No friend! Shake yourself out of that spiral of thinking that leads to despair. Start to partner with God! He comes through faithfully every time we seek Him and focus on His Word over our lives. We must decide for ourselves that we will take every negative thought captive before it takes root and begins to affect our attitudes and behaviour, and determine to start filling our minds with the promises of God. Desiring to connect with God and hear what He has to say, is the first step to eradicating negativity from our lives!
So why not tune in to what God is saying right now!
So how do you stop fear, worry and insecurity from overwhelming you when you face challenges like a negative health diagnosis? Begin by reminding yourself that you are a child of God, then confront the negative thoughts, head on, and declare, “No! I do not accept that. That is not my destiny and God's will for my life. I am going to start to connect with God in my mind and fill it with the possibilities of God as I tune my ear to what He has to say.” As you focus your attention on Him, you will hear Him say, “I have healed you by my stripes (Isaiah 53:5). I have sent My word and healed all your diseases (Psalm 107:20). I am Jehovah Jireh, your Provider (Genesis 22:14).”
As you hear the thoughts of Christ—the declarations about God and His promises— your spirit will begin to get built up, faith will rise, hope will be stirred, and you will begin to believe again. Suddenly, you will find yourself acting differently, and it will just be a matter of time before you see the breakthrough in your life!
But it all begins when we choose to focus on, and think like, our God!
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
What a powerful statement! Don't worry about ANYTHING? That’s what it says! Whether it be your finances, relationships, future, employment, business or education, God commands that we refuse to worry. Instead, we are urged to pray about everything.
When we pray, our minds are focused on God as we commune with Him. The more we talk to Him and hear from Him, our thinking and attitudes begin to conform to His and are steered away from the situation that is screaming for our attention. As we share with Him every detail of what we are going through, a miracle takes place. There is a divine exchange where all worry and fear is replaced with supernatural PEACE.
When we pray, our minds are focused on God as we commune with Him. A divine exchange happens! All worry and fear will be replaced with supernatural PEACE.
Worry, fear and anxiety eat away at our peace, disconnecting us from the truth of God's Word. They divert our focus away from God and send us into a spiral of thinking where we end up lost in our own little world without any hope. Instead of leaning on God for help, we rely on ourselves to generate solutions to get ourselves free—often making the situation so much worse! On the other hand, when you pray about everything, constantly talking to God about your children, your spouse, your education, your health etc., you remain close to Him and it is difficult for the enemy to lure you away from the right path. As you talk to Him, you will hear God’s perfect will for your life and His perfect will is that you succeed in everything you do!
This is for you today— an encouragement from God, especially for you. The remedy for your anxiety is simply to PRAY. Set your mind on God and His promises as you talk to Him. Worries are fearful thoughts that circulate continually in your mind, draining you of faith and producing ‘death’ in areas of your life. But when you fill your mind with the possibilities of God, your heart is filled with faith, joy, and peace, knowing that God is going to take care of everything. Why? Because you're His child and He is a good Father.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
This scripture is the reason that we decided, as a church, to come together to pray online at lunch time, while our city was in lockdown. Not only were we intent on seeing our God bring the breakthrough, but we needed to get our thinking in Kingdom-order, individually and as a church, so we could come into a greater level of unity and position ourselves for commanded blessing (see Psalm 133:1-3). The scripture is clear that we should pray at ALL TIMES.
So, if you're going through a difficult situation right now— pray. Don't just talk about the problem. Don’t contact your friends immediately to discuss it. Don't look to the internet for information and read everything that it says about your situation. Instead—pray! Get your mind filled with the possibilities of God and not the threats of the enemy and the limitations of human thought and reasoning. Position yourself for supernatural intervention!
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
How do you receive peace when you need it the most? It's so easy! Trust in God and fix your thoughts on Him. Think about Him and everything Jesus accomplished for you when He died on the cross. Think of how He modelled a Kingdom-focussed, supernatural life, full of miracles and defying impossibilities.This same Kingdom-life is available for us today! Everything we need to appropriate a supernatural lifestyle is found in God’s Word which He has promised to fulfil in our lives as we activate our faith.
We must open God’s Word every single day. Let's not wait until the hard times come to seek God’s will for our lives. His Word tells us who He is and the more we understand His nature, the more we trust Him with our lives and circumstances—especially in times where we are emotional and stressed. His Word reminds us that He is the Alpha and Omega (the first and the last) and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is like no other. He is amazing! He is powerful!
Focus on who He is and let your heart and mind be renewed. The more we read God’s Word, the more scriptures come alive to us and the more clearly we understand His Will. When we fill our mind with His thoughts about us, it will start to take effect and change the way we respond to life. We will quickly discover that there is an answer to be found for EVERY situation that we face, in His Word!
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
You cannot find this true peace by doing things your own way— according to the flesh— or by doing things according to man’s philosophies and reason. The only way to access perfect peace is by getting your mind and your heart firmly set on God.
I want to urge you today, don’t be troubled or afraid. Why can I so confidently encourage you in this? Because I know who God is: I know He is faithful to complete His work in our lives, I know He wants to move so powerfully in your life and I know He wants to strengthen you and build you up in your most holy faith. I have a firm conviction that we will emerge from this and every season, full of faith and joy as He makes a way for us to come back together to praise Him, worship Him and study His Word as a family. Nothing can stop the Church being the Church and NO weapon can prevail against her. Why? Because Jesus is the head of His Church and has ALL dominion and authority. He calls us His Body and has great exploits planned for us, but everything begins by choosing to align ourselves with His thinking.
So right now, as an act of faith, I encourage you to lay one hand on your head and one hand on your heart. Close your eyes and ask Holy Spirit to help you right now to address any thinking that does not line up with His. I'm believing for a miracle to take place—that as you pray, every negative thought will be dispelled and every stronghold of fear, depression and anxiety will be broken in your mind and heart.
As God’s Word commands us, let’s make the choice not to be anxious about anything, but at the first sign of worry, turn to God and pray—and continue to pray about EVERYTHING, on EVERY occasion. Expect the peace of God to saturate your mind as you start to think, feel and respond differently. Have confidence that with God’s help, you will make good decisions —the very same Jesus would make—and take positive Kingdom-action in the face of your circumstances. Then wait for the breakthrough to come. If God promised it, He will deliver!
What are YOU thinking?
