We all need to make it a daily practice of Renewing Our Minds. I remember a time when a large portion of thoughts that ran through my mind was negative and dark. I couldn’t conjure up a positive affirmation about myself no matter how hard I tried. Sure, everything appeared to be going great from the outside looking in, but nobody could see the torment that was going on internally. I was a low-key fast-moving train ready to derail at any moment. The truth of the matter is, I did derail when I attempted to end any future God had for my life. My mind and thoughts were so messed up that I decided my life wasn’t worth living anymore. I was carrying things from my past and it was a heavy burdensome load that wasn’t meant for me to hold on to, yet I was refusing to release it to God. I was in desperate need of a mind shift, a renewal of who I was in Christ and His purpose for my life. I learned to #letitgo and it has been one of the best lessons I could ever embrace.
We can’t carry old garbage around with us when we’re trying to renew our minds. Old and new cannot align with our thoughts when we have the desire to become better. We must have a cleaning out—a deep cleaning out of thoughts that aren’t positive, fruitful, or beneficial. How many times have you found yourself sitting and dwelling in the negative and allowing it to become overwhelming where you don’t see yourself the way God sees you? Maybe you’ve embraced the negative picture that you’re not worthy of __________ (fill in the blank).
I want to encourage you to renew your mind daily. By doing this, you will be taking purposeful steps to overcome challenges and be better prepared when the attack of negativity erupts throughout the day. Change the narrative of the story that you’re telling yourself about yourself. To go to new places, you need a new mindset. Get rid of the old and embrace something new.
Know this, when you transform your mind and are healed, Satan will fight all the more to take you back to “what was.” We aren’t immune to his tactics just because our faith in God has increased and we believe in His promises for our lives. The battle gets stronger when our mental power is fulfilled through the Holy Spirit. Transformation is an ongoing process and requires patience. It requires us to be specific, realistic, and active in making the necessary changes.
How do we transform our thinking and renew our minds?
Pray
The most important thing we can do when our minds are a “jumbled mess” is to pray and seek God for peace. He will grant you peace, not just any peace, but a “peace that surpasses all understanding.” This peace “will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6. Who wouldn’t want this peace? When everything is going on around you that seems to be in an uproar, you have peace. When people think you should be losing your mind, you have peace. When people are walking out of your life, you have peace. When the job no longer exists, you have peace. When the business endeavor didn’t go the way you expected, you have peace. Pray and ask God for peace as you renew your mind and increase your faith in Him.
Remove Yourself from People Who Don’t Think You Can Grow
God is using you while He is transforming you and this will make some people uncomfortable. They will want you to remain in the place that you’re in and not grow. They don’t believe you need a transformation and want you to stay stuck in a mental and emotional fog. Be determined to shift and be renewed regardless of how others view your transformation. Don’t give in to the thought of “hurting their feelings” when you pull away or remove yourself from their presence. Your feelings matter at this moment and in the moments ahead. Be ok with your growth and the vision you have for mental peace. When you remove yourself from people who don’t think you can grow, you will be refreshed because you’re not continuing to entangle yourself in negative environments. Embrace your newness and refreshing future!
Stop Being Controlled by Your Past
The vision of Love Yourself to Life is to encourage women to embrace the essence of who they are and not allow the past to interfere with their present and future. I spent many years allowing my past to have a negative effect on my future. I was allowing it to hold me hostage and not take the necessary steps for a better life. Our present situation is a process, and we must be determined not to give up when it becomes challenging. Healing from past hurts, hurt. It doesn’t feel good when we are reliving emotions and feelings from things people have said or done to us. Can I get an Amen?
When we truly do the work, it is going to cause an eruption of memories that are painful and unfavorable. We remember decisions that we made that weren’t productive for our lives or conducive to the direction in which God was sending us.
Hallelujah! As I wrote that God reminded me of Jonah. God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh, but he didn’t want to go there because he considered them enemies. Jonah didn’t want to follow God’s plan and went in an entirely different direction. Long story short, when it came down to it, God had the final say, and Jonah ultimately travel to Nineveh.
Reflect on a time that you made a decision that was the opposite of what God wanted for you. There are specific moments in my life when I specifically remember God telling me to ask someone a specific question. To be transparent with you, I didn’t ask and had to learn not to live in a space of regret. Very shortly after I made a shift, God revealed the facts of what I could not see that would’ve been disclosed had I only followed His instructions to simply ask. Even in that situation, I’ve had to renew my mind and not allow mustard seed-size thoughts to settle and grow. If I wasn’t careful, I would allow that situation of my past to control my future. I admonish you again to stop being controlled by your past. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23
It’s time to shift! It’s time for renewal! Not tomorrow…NOW! Connect with me for help freeing yourself from what’s holding you hostage. Again, we need to have a daily practice of Renewing Our Minds.
Remember this: When your mind is renewed, you are not controlled by your past. You are FREE!