7 Ways to Renew Your Mind

Scriptures: Romans 12:2, Matthew 13:4, Ephesians 4:22-23

First Step

Stop waiting for an outside miracle to change your mind.

Most of those miracles will never come until you get rid of the chaos in your mind by filling it with God’s Word. However, the renewing of the mind will never start if you believe the excuse, “The reason why my mind is so negative is because my life is so hard.” Have you ever thought that maybe the reason your life is so hard is because your mind is so negative? You cannot experience miracles regularly if your mind is a mess. 

We see in Scripture the importance of soil for a seed to be planted (Matthew 13:4). Some soil will make it easy to bear fruit, while others will cause the seed to be choked out and unfruitful. Stop making your mind a sidewalk for the Devil to trample on; instead, make it a disciple to the Word of God. Do not let the Devil walk on your mind as a sidewalk, otherwise the Word of God has no chance to bring change. The birds will steal it from your heart. 

We see in the Old Testament a glimpse into how the people of God thought. Israel thought that more miracles would change their minds, but most of them died as victims in the wilderness, even though they witnessed more miracles than any other generation has had a chance to see. We also see that the Pharisees believed this same lie: If Jesus would do a few more miracles, then they would believe He was the Son of God. However, despite all the supernatural things Jesus did, including the resurrection of the dead, they remained unconvinced. 

Do not get me wrong, we need miracles, but they alone do not change our minds without our humility and willingness to make God’s Word the standard for our lives.Remember, the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. Miracles are like that—for those who are hungry for God’s Word, miracles help increase faith, but for those who refuse to allow God’s Word to have dominion over their lives, miracles are never enough.If you stop blaming your circumstances for your negative thinking, God will start powerfully working on you.

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for helping me come across this reading plan and for allowing it to challenge my thinking. Please highlight the negative thinking I’ve held onto for years and help me to remove it. Bring about change in my mind by the power of your blood. In Jesus name I pray.

Scriptures: Joshua 1:8, Philippians 4:8, Romans 8:5

Second Step 

Stop believing that you can’t control your thoughts.

The second lie that must be repented of is the belief that you cannot control your thoughts, but rather they control you. This excuse is not Scriptural. When we look at the Bible, we see that it commands us to “think about these things…” (Philippians 4:8) and to “meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8), meaning that we can choose the thoughts we entertain. 

We must understand that the mind is a servant either to our spirit or to our flesh. 

When our inner man is weak, the mind runs errands for the flesh by thinking negative thoughts. But, when we constantly build our spirit by communion with the Holy Spirit, our mind comes under the influence of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who lives in us. It is then that we are left with the choice to think godly things or let the mind go with the flow of life. 

For example, every country has border patrols to stop people from entering who are not supposed to enter. It is for the protection and safety of the country. In the same way, it’s important that you set up “border control” in your mind to stop all thoughts of doubt, fear, and negativity from entering and living in your mind. They only bring harm to your life. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit. I pray that you will help me be aware of moments when I am entertaining negative thoughts. Help me to think of things of the Spirit so that my inner man may be strengthened.

Scriptures: Psalms 119:11, Isaiah 26:3, Proverbs 7:1-3

Third Step 

What you feed your mind with becomes a mindset.

A mindset is impossible to change without first changing what fills your mind. Typically, when we hear the truth about breaking strongholds or renewing the mind, we get busy trying to change our mindsets. Then, we quickly learn that it is not an easy task. 

A mindset is what controls you; the mind is what you control. The only way to change your default thinking is by filling your conscious mind with new information about God’s truth. Once the conscious mind is filled to the overflow, it slips into the subconscious mind. 

It’s important to note that so many of our behaviors are automatic, meaning they are unconscious actions we take. This is why we often set goals but do not reach them. Setting goals is the function of the conscious mind, but reaching them is the task of the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind occupies most of the brain. It does not work by logic; therefore, it believes anything that is told repeatedly by the conscious mind. 

This is why it’s important for us to feed our minds with information from the Word of God. When we do, the Holy Spirit turns that information into revelation, and this soon becomes our new mindset. Every time you give an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to bring a revelation from God’s Word, you can be sure that He will turn the revelation of that Word into a manifestation of that Word, producing visible results in your life. 

Before there can be a manifestation in your circumstances, you must allow the Spirit of God to bring revelation into your spirit. 

I want to encourage you to read, memorize, and meditate on the Bible, listen to podcasts, and read Christian books. Fill your mind with the truth, and the Holy Spirit will make it come alive, which will, in turn, change your mindset and transform your life. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for leading me to understand how my mindset can change. I pray that You would awaken a new hunger in me for Your Word and a devotion to storing it in my heart. Help me to understand the value of your Word and the privilege it is to have it.

Scriptures: Proverbs 18:21, Joshua 1:8, 2 Corinthians 4:13

Fourth Step 

Confess what you believe, not what you feel.

It’s important to understand that we possess what we confess. We possess salvation by confessing Jesus as the Lord of our lives. We possess God’s promises by confessing them with our mouths. I believe that when you regularly confess only what you feel and see, you are hurting your faith and not helping to remove the negative thoughts. 

When God saw the world in darkness, void, and without form (Genesis 1:2-4)– He did not use His words to describe the situation. Instead, He used the power of His word to change the situation. In the same way, I want to encourage you to not use your mouth as a thermometer, which only reads the temperature of your current condition, but instead, allow God’s Word to turn your mouth into a thermostat, which changes the temperature of your life by confessing what God says. 

The Lord instructed Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth” (Joshua 1:8). Joshua not only had read the book and studied it, but he also needed to speak it. We also see in another portion of Scripture that Jesus did a similar thing in the wilderness while being tempted by the devil. Satan probably tempted Jesus the way he tempts us–through His thoughts. Regardless, we see in Scripture that Jesus did not merely think about the Scriptures to combat the devil’s arrows; instead, He spoke the Scripture. 

When evil thoughts attack your mind, it’s a powerful act to open your mouth and speak in line with God’s Word, not your feelings or current circumstances. As it says in Joel 3:10, “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Don’t speak what you feel all the time, otherwise your mind can’t change. Learn to speak God’s word instead. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, I pray that you will help me to focus on your Word and Your faithfulness. Give me grace to not focus on how I feel over the truth of Your Word and Your nature. I pray for clarity in mind and heart. 

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 13:18-23

Fifth Step 

Resist negative thoughts and assist positive thoughts. 

One thing that is important to remember is that positive thoughts are not going to automatically stay in our minds, and it is our job to assist them. Similarly, negative thoughts are not going to leave automatically, and therefore, they need to be resisted. 

In the first of Jesus’s parables, He speaks about the seed, soil, and the sower (Matthew 13), teaching how bad things, like weeds, need to be pulled out and good things, like seeds, need to be planted. All good seeds need nurturing for them to sprout. However, for the bad seed to grow, you need to do nothing. They grow on their own. The same goes for thoughts. Bad ones will not leave; good ones will not stay. 

Therefore, the best way to change your mindset is to understand the importance of consistency in introducing godly thoughts. We must assist the Word of God in our thoughts by making room for it in our hearts and resist the evil thoughts of the enemy by taking them captive and bringing them into submission to Christ. 

Remember, you cannot stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair. Bad thoughts come, but they do not have to stay if we speak against them with the truth of God’s Word. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, help me to continue on this journey of renewing my mind. May my mind be a place that is pleasing to you, full of thoughts that are godly and pure. Help me to change this area of my life and to resist the negative thoughts that come my way. 

Scriptures: Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sixth Step 

Celebrate the process. 

It is going to take time to see a change in your mind. I think there is a reason why God took six days to create the world instead of one day. I believe that He wanted to show us how to go through the process of change. 

In the account of creation, we see that each day God did something great, He would end the day by celebrating what was done instead of complaining about what was still not done. On the third day, when there was still so much work to be done, God saw that it was good. 

Similarly, the process of renewing the mind happens when we celebrate small victories and focus on what God is doing, instead of what He is not doing. Also, it is worth noting that God never compared the messy process of creation to the beautiful heaven where He resides. The devil will try to mess up the process of your mind renewal by making you compare your progress with someone else’s. 

We are all on different days of progress. Therefore, it’s important that we fix our eyes on the Creator and not compare ourselves with others. Comparison kills contentment. We are encouraged to run the race looking to Jesus, not to another runner, to see how we compare with another’s journey (Hebrews 12:1-3). The greatest joy in life is to know who you are and who you are not, to be comfortable in your own skin and happy with the path that God has you on, even if it looks like you are way behind everyone else. 

Remember, you are complete in God; you do not need to compare yourself to others. Comparing leads to complaining, which can lead to breaking the 10th commandment of coveting. And, coveting kills God’s creative process of renewing your mind. 

So, if your neighbor’s lawn looks greener than yours, then start watering your lawn. Be the best version of you the world has ever seen. Remember, what God started, He is faithful to finish (Philippians 1:6). He is not done with you yet.

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for the plans you have for my life. I thank you today for the transformation. You are beginning in me, even right now. May I be easily malleable in Your hands. Transform me from within, Lord.

Scriptures: Romans 15:13, Psalms 91:14-16, Psalms 37:4-5

Seventh Step 

Expect miracles. 

Lastly, I want to remind you that expecting something good is a choice. It is an act of our faith. A person with a renewed mind has positive expectations in the forefront of their mind. Do not let your imagination create an image in which things will go bad for you, such as sickness worsening, relationship breaking, business failing, etc. Replace those negative imaginations with promises from God’s Word. 

I heard a funny story of a young couple who got married, and every night the wife would get this feeling that someone was in the house trying to rob them. She would ask her husband to go and check the house. Night after night, he would check the house and find no one there. This continued week after week for a long time. However, out of love for his wife, he continued. One time during a nightly routine check, he was surprised to see a thief in the house. The robber told him not to make any noise and to give him all the valuables. After the husband gave him what he demanded before the thief left, he asked the robber not to leave so soon but to meet his wife since she had been expecting him for all those years! 

This story represents our expectations. Expectations are a breeding place for miracles. Some people wake up in the morning with a feeling that something bad is going to happen to them that day. If that happens to you, it is from the devil. 

Choose to trust in God and expect His grace and mercy, not accidents, tickets, or all hell breaks loose. 

Does that mean we will never have bad days? No! But live as though you’re not expecting them. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for helping me understand the practical steps to bring about change in this area of my life. I pray that as I continue on this journey, you will give me the grace to have a permanent change and that this transformation will be a testimony of Your power in my life.