And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2
Transformation is a necessity for us believers. Through transformation we change into the image of Christ, and the world can be drawn to God because of our changed lives!
In the last devotional, I shared about the spirit man. Our spirit is the first place of transformation, and it becomes the gateway for all the other aspects of our lives to change as well.
Our Soul (mind, emotion, & will)
In order for transformation to be visible, our soul needs renewal. Our spirit man got converted at the point of salvation, but our soul needs transformation which is a long continual process. It requires intentional and patient effort in the right direction.
Our soul will begin to change when our mind changes. The above scripture is speaking about our minds being renewed. Joyce Meyer in her book “The Battlefield of the Mind” says, “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.”
What we don’t realize is that our thoughts shape our reality. For example, we experience disappointment, and we internalize and interpret it in a certain way. We may decide that we must not be good enough, or we may think someone doesn’t have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, we falsely believe our inaccurate interpretation, so we conclude that those are the facts.
After a few hurtful events, we start expecting disappointments, and we make up our mind about the outcome before it happens. The world calls this “Self fulfilling Prophesy”. Spiritually speaking, it is a stronghold that we have developed in order to protect ourselves from getting hurt again. Those thoughts affect our emotions and “will”. Certain situations, take us back to the negative thoughts we had of that circumstance and remind us of the memories and emotions we experienced during that time. Then we exercise our “will” to avoid that type of situation or person because it made us feel bad.
To develop the mind of Christ is a lifelong battle. So many times we want to justify holding on to anger, resentment, and un-forgiveness, but that is not God. The Lord knows that as long as we hold on to those thoughts and emotions, we cannot have joy and fullness of life. Those thoughts can cause seething anger in our hearts. Past hurts can affect our trust level in people who have not done anything to harm us. Un-forgiveness affects our relationship with the Lord as well. When issues arise we find ourselves cynical and doubtful rather than trusting and hopeful.
The pattern of the world is to harbor anger, un-forgiveness, and cut off relationships. In order to live a Christ-like life, we need to develop the mind of Christ. When our mind changes, our emotions, and our “will” will follow suit.
Praise God for His transforming power at work in our lives!
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
