Chapter 3

The Renewing of Your Mind

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...”

Romans 12:2 (KJV)

We do not only respond to what happens. We respond to what we believe it means. Transformation reaches beneath behavior into interpretation and belief.

A Thought Is Not Automatically Truth

Second Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) tells us to bring thoughts into captivity to Christ. We can ask whether a thought is true, consistent with Scripture and God's character, or whether fear, assumption, or the past is interpreting the present.

What Happened and What It Meant

Someone leaves, and we may decide people always leave. Someone criticizes us, and we may decide we are never enough. A plan fails, and we may decide we ruin everything. God does not ask us to rewrite history. He teaches us to stop allowing false interpretations of history to govern the future.

Truth, Not Positive Thinking

Renewal is not replacing every uncomfortable thought with a pleasant one. Sometimes truth is uncomfortable: I need to apologize. This relationship is unhealthy. I have been controlling. I need to stop. I have been blaming someone else for something that belongs to me. Renewal replaces distortion with truth.

Renewal Requires Repetition

Old pathways can reappear. Growth may be seen in recognizing them sooner and returning to truth faster.

Give the Holy Spirit Room

Psalm 139:23 (KJV) invites God to know our thoughts. We ask Him to show where fear, pride, old experience, or assumption is speaking louder than truth. Becoming includes allowing Christ to change not only what we do, but the way we see.