Life. We are heading towards Easter, the most important holiday concerning life. You have to love the Christmas story, but it isn't near as awesome if you don't have the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our God is not dead! If He is dead, we are wasting our time and live without a real purpose, with no hope of a good future. So last week we talked about the power of our words. This week we discussed our thoughts. Thoughts always have a source. What is our source going to be? We are tempted to focus on any number of problems or tasks to do. A mulititude of things occupy our minds every day, creating a very fast paced, busy schedule, and bringing with it a lot of stress.
Last week, we enjoyed the idea of "speaking the Word", or letting Jesus' type of words come from our hearts and out of our mouths. Expounding on that, we need to be in His word, and in Him, the Word, to have our minds influenced for the good. He actually commands us to remember His word/law and meditate on it. He expects us to talk about it and share it with our children and others. (Josh. 1:8; Deut. 6:4-9). It is when we read and think about His word and Him that we start to see a change of mind. His Spirit influences our thoughts. He is developing the mind of God in us. Things that are important to Him are becoming important to us. We begin to know Him more. We start to see more of what He is doing and what His plan is. We understand how He looks at other people. And the greatness of His love is revealed more and more. Seeds are planted and slowly grow. We were reminded that no gift of the Spirit is given in full maturity. It seems, these traits and gifts take some time to grow, so give yourself a break. We are all a work in process. But as we continue to stay in His word, living for Him, over time, we can look back and see growth, maturity, development, wisdom, and fruit of that Spirit.
We are called to think about good things, including heaven (Col. 3:2). We should be careful to not be consumed by earthly thoughts and concerns (Phil. 3:19). These can become distractions to our first love, which is Jesus, our Savior. We can trust Him to help us through anything, so don't worry, He's with us! He will steady us during the storms. He is the source of our peace in the strong winds of this life (Isa. 26:3). He is transforming our minds so we can know what He wants and what He is doing (Rom. 12:2).
There seems to be a flip-side to everything. The opposite of a mind controlled by the Spirit is a very sad state to be in. If we allow the world and its perspectives and concerns to dominate our minds, we easily and quickly let gravity take over and start doing things that ought not be done (Rom. 1:28). Our minds can turn hostile to God (Rom. 8:7). Now, the truth is God knows what He is doing and He is still sovereign, whether we submit to Him or not. He is in the business of saving people. That is His main goal: for people to respond to Him and experience an eternal relationship of a full and meaningful life with Him. And He knows how to get 'er done. He just might let you go down the road of your worldly thinking in hopes that you see the error of your ways, wake up, turn around, and discover the amazing love He has for you. We have to trust that He doesn't give people a less than His best effort. He doesn't hold back. He goes all the way, providing the perfect opportunities for people to choose Him. He proved that on the cross, demonstrating His love for us. There is nobody that employs a better plan to save people than Him. Sadly, that sometimes looks like it takes somebody hitting their low point, as they have rejected Him, and continued down a path of what seemed right in their minds. He is gracious to let us go, all the while still pursuing us and revealing His nature to us along the way. I can talk, because I've walked down that road before, and am still tempted every day to go it on my own. But when I discovered He was right with me the whole time, I realized how amazing and powerful His love was for me. He changed my life, right then and there, in one of my darkest moments.
So I let Him have His way with me. I study His word. I think about it. I talk about it. I try to apply it in real-world situations. I put my faith into action. I trust He is good on His promise- to renew my mind into having a Godly perspective on life. And it takes time. Forgive me for rushing through some of this, diving into my busy schedule too quickly. I need to spend more time with Him, sitting still and meditating on His word, to allow it to truly make a difference in my thoughts.
