Changing your mind …

The single greatest power a human being has is choosing the thoughts they will entertain, and what they do with those thoughts.

It is our thinking that we use to draw closer to, or push away from, God. It is our thoughts of others that determine our value and views of them, and our interactions with them. It is our thoughts about ourselves that motivates what we do with the life God has given us.

Our thoughts are powerful things!

Our thoughts create our emotions, and our thoughts and emotions together formulate our actions. It is no wonder, then, that our thinking is at the core of our spiritual transformation. The Apostle Paul wrote concisely, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23).

William Shakespeare put a poetic spin on this issue by writing, “Make not your thoughts your prisons.” Instead of heeding these words, we routinely paralyze ourselves with our own thinking.

This type of behavior is highlighted in the urban legend reported by the Associated Press about Lisa Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego. While she was visiting her in-laws, she went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up, her eyes closed, and with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed Lisa’s eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Lisa replied she had been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour.

The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Lisa refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they discovered Lisa had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head …

A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid.

Lisa hadn’t been shot, she simply had become a prisoner of her own thoughts.

We need to be set free from the prisons of our own thinking by having our minds renewed by the Holy Spirit, and finding the peace that comes by focusing our thoughts on God:

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3.

How do you limit yourself by your own thinking from being all God wants you to be? Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to renew your mind, transform your thinking, and set you free from the prison your thoughts have created?

Scotty