Mind Games.

When I read this portion of the verse found in Romans 12:2 (NTL) version, the words literally jumped off the page and slapped me in the face. I love the translation of this verse: "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."

So often we become a victim to our thoughts, and perspectives’ that we truly fail to view things in light of God’s perspective. We become so tangled up in our own messes that our minds cannot truly comprehend anything else. We view people a certain way based on our own flesh’s perspective instead of how God views them. We isolate our thoughts based on our circumstances. When God asks us to do something, we fall short to what our mind tells us what we can or cannot do. When instead we should allow God to transform our thought process to what HIS abilities in us and through us can accomplish.

The reason we cannot overcome ourselves time and time again is because our mind is not in alignment with the things that God has put in our heart. We think one thing and feel another. No, we don’t live by what we feel, but it is in the heart where God transforms our feelings. You know the, "from the heart the mouth speaks" verse that we preach all the time?! And it is our minds that dictate what we do with those feelings. Living by our feelings often times leads us to making irrational decisions because we acted on what WE felt, and not a what our mind processed and thought was okay. Our mind is powerful, and if we don’t allow God to change our way of thinking, our decisions are based on ourselves and not what God wants for us.

Am I saying that in every single decision you make you need to pray about it, or think about it through God’s perspective? Not at all. You don’t pray about having to use the restroom, you just go. You don’t pray about taking a drink of water if you’re thirsty, you just drink it. You don’t pray about being kind to someone, you just show kindness. The list could go on. However, I am saying that if the way you’re thinking isn’t leading you to fulfill the purpose and plan that God has for your life, then you need to pray about it. When we allow the Holy Spirit to change our way of thinking, our thoughts start to appear differently. No longer are you consumed with only satisfying yourself and your needs. No longer are you consumed with your personal desires and opinions. No longer are you consumed by yourself and the things you are good at.

To allow God to change our way of thinking is to be consumed with meeting someone else’s need; to help someone else fulfill their calling and purpose; and to focus on the impact we can make in someone’s eternity.

Not a single person is incapable of this.

Satan wants to constantly remind us of what we are not capable of.  I mean, in a way, he is right. On our own we are not capable of fulfilling all that God has for us.  When we allow God to change our thinking, we begin to understand that it is because of God that we are capable. It is because of God’s abilities and power in us that we can overcome our own thought process. It is because of God’s love in us that changes our perspective on how we view those around us. It is because of God that we can complete the desires he has put in our heart. It is because of God that his word comes alive in our life when we apply it.  It is because of God that our focus turns off of ourselves and onto everyone else.

 I don’t for a second believe that God wants us to remain inadequate vessels who can’t do anything for ourselves. I don’t believe that God thinks little of us because without him we aren’t powerful. I do believe that because God created us, he knows exactly how to make all the pieces work properly like they should. I do believe that because he formed us in HIS image and because HE is all powerful, he knows what we can accomplish with his power living inside of us. God takes our weaknesses and makes us strong. God takes our brokenness and makes us whole. God takes our sin and makes us holy. If he only thought of us as weaklings who were worthless without him, then HE would only boast about how great he is; but instead he boasts about OUR greatness and potential because of him.

God doesn’t need to prove to you that he is great and mighty. God wants to prove to you, that in you and through you, he can make you great and mighty. He tells us that in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”  Not for your own personal gain, but for the lives that you can reach for the kingdom.  For the lives that are waiting for someone like you to meet their need. For the lives that are depending on you to show them the way to Jesus.  As soon as we take our eyes and focus off of the work he wants to do in us, we’ll drop the ball every time. That is where mercy and grace usher in to pick us up and keep us moving forward. We are not perfect, and we won’t do it perfectly, ever. But we can be consistent as we become persistent. 

God will make you able, all you need to do is be available.