November 16 I Wednesday

Ezekiel 3-4

Hebrews 11:20-40

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.”     —Isaiah 26:3

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he tells us when troubles come our way, we are not to be anxious, but to pray to God, submitting our requests with thanksgiving, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Paul also adds, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). When the going is tough, Paul gives us eight things to think about. Why is that?

       We should not bury our heads in the sand and wish our problems would go away, but turn our mind to what is true. How we think is important, as Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We are to renew our mind. The mind is the initial avenue of spiritual experience, where we understand and think correctly about things and experience reality.

       What we think about is important. This is not fantasy or pop psychology, but bringing God into our situation. We may be facing traumas and difficulties that we do not really know the answers to. It is true that there is pain in our body; it is true that there are fears about our future, but what is also true is that Jesus Christ, who has conquered everything, lives in us. There is a quote that goes, “You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.” Similarly, Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV). Hence, the problem we are going through does not end after we pray to God about it; we have got to change our thinking so that every day, we are saying, “Lord Jesus, in every part of my life, I want You to reign. I want You to fill every part of my life today.” It does not mean life will be easy; it just means we have resources we never had before.

       In all honesty, we can be a Christian, yet still live with our mind on earthly things. We need a real change to our mind, which comes with repentance. The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoeo that combines the word meta, meaning “to change,” and noeo, meaning “the mind.” We need an ongoing change of mind every day.

       The next time we find ourselves in a situation, may we remember to meditate on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and excellent or praiseworthy.

Prayer: Dear God, You are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Transform me by renewing my mind to remember You in every circumstance. Praise You!