Your life is the manifestation and reflection of your thought life

Romans: 8:6 | “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

What does the Bible say about our thought life?

Romans 12:2 | “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Believers are to allow God to renew their thoughts. He renews us with the Spirit of God using the Word of God in our lives. We must be washed by the Word to be made new.

Ephesians 4:23 says that we are to “put off our old self” by being “made new in the spirit of our minds”. Paul is telling us to put off our old way of thinking and put on a new, biblical way of thinking, he is here contrasting our old way of thinking with the biblical way of thinking. These scriptures tell us that our thought life has an important impact on the way we live out our lives.

What does thought life mean?

Thought life is the health of your mind in perceiving, processing, and adapting to the world around you and in relation to it. Our thought life is central to hearing from God because every way that God speaks to us will be processed through our thoughts. God reveals himself to us through our thoughts. In fact, 'revelation' by its very nature always has to do with two persons: the one revealing and the one receiving. Some people are not hearing the Lord accurately as they are processing through their own thoughts.

Where do our thoughts come from according to the Bible?

Psalm 94:19 | “In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul.”

God has created us to think, to plan, to dream, and to imagine. We have a multitude of thoughts within us each and every day—and most of what goes on in our head is just yourself.

Every word that comes out of our mouth comes from a thought - whether consciously or unconsciously. There are fleeting, errant thoughts that pop into your head and can be instantly dismissed. There are also intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts require deliverance as they result from infiltration of the enemy either in current present, past atmospheres and also through open doors in our lives.

We can choose our thoughts and we don’t have to just think about whatever falls into our mind.

Proverbs 4:23, NIV | “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

In the Bible, "heart" denotes the inner man, his thoughts, his will, his inclinations, and his affections; or the human soul with its faculties and operations. So it is a heart issue - it comes down to a heart issue.

Behind every errant thought, there is a heart problem.

These are thoughts that we entertain and that linger. These thoughts can turn into beliefs. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. (Romans 8:5) We must understand that something drives our thoughts! We have a nature, a heart condition that actively influences our thought life. The desires inside our hearts lure and entice us. Out of our hearts, thoughts flow! And because we have a heart condition that is either very, very sick or being healed by our Savior, we must take seriously the state of our hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 says | “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

It is deceitful with relation to God, It is deceitful with respect to other men, and it is deceitful with regard to ourselves; and our desires often deceive us, pervert our judgment, and impose upon our reason.

Out of our hearts, come the thoughts that we think.

Our hearts are full of all kinds of desires, and our desires are often expressed via our thoughts. While intricately connected, we must understand that the condition of our heart directly impacts the nature of our thought life. If we are dominated by our sinful nature and heart, then our thoughts will set out to destroy us and all God loves. If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, our thoughts will bring life and joy to our existence and even to the lives of those around us. No amount of effort or thought control will ever be enough when it comes to the problems I face in my life. Controlling our thought life is important. But we must get first things first. We must love God. When I love God, I will obey him. When I run to Jesus, my thought life will follow.

In John 15, Jesus says, | “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.”

He goes on to warn us that apart from him “we can do nothing.” It is only in intimate connection and relationship with Jesus that our hearts and lives can be transformed. Without daily intimacy with Jesus and running to him fresh every moment, our thought lives remain in a precarious and vulnerable position. 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. (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine)

At the end of the day, it will be GOD that transforms us and changes the way we think. If knowledge and self-control could do the trick, we would have never needed a Savior. We must resist the urge to use God (even subconsciously) to get freedom from the thing that plagues us. Instead, we must surrender to the One who loves us most and run to him with our love, devotion and adoration. As we fight to keep him first in our hearts, we then trust him to heal us from the inside out. We don’t just need new thoughts. We need a new heart. We need a new spirit.

Ezekiel 36:26 | And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 

We need to understand that God is concerned about the hidden man of the heart, which is our inner life. The way we think determines how we live and who we are. That’s why we need to think about what we’re thinking about. When God made the first man, Adam, He made him after His image and after His likeness and made him “very good” (Genesis 1:31). But Adam sinned. That sin passed down from Adam to all mankind. Man became totally corrupt and wicked. The perfect man that God had created became a bankrupt sinner. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The word "imagination" means "that which is formed in a man’s mind, a thought, purpose, desire." Sin always begins in the mind. “As he (a person) thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) Sinful men formed sinful thoughts (Genesis 6:5) Everything we think, say, and do - even our kindness, morality, and religion - are dead works, evil deeds, and fruit unto death (see Psalms 14:2-3; Proverbs 4:19; 10:16,32; 12:5,10; 15:8,9,26,28; 21:4,10,27; Isaiah 45:20; 64:6; Matthew 7:18; John 3:19-20; Romans 1:20-32; 3:9-18; 7:5; 8:5-8; 10:2-3; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 2Co. 4:3-4; Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:21). The source of every evil, the secret of all felicity, is not touched until the heart is reached and scrutinized.

If you do not understand the problem, you will not seek the right cure.

The first and most important step in seeking a cure is an accurate diagnosis of the problem. That is true not only physically but also spiritually. In Matthew 15, Jesus teaches a vital lesson in spiritual diagnosis. It is not what goes into a person that defiles him. It is what comes out of him — the corrupted streams that flow from a corrupted heart. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15: 19–20). As has been well said, the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Our sins do not make us sinful. Rather, we commit sins because, at the very center of our lives, we are sinful. Sin has invaded the inner recesses of our personalities. No one commits outward sin without first having committed it in their mind. If we want to grow in godliness, we must win the battle over sin on the thought level because 'Sin' is primarily self-centeredness.

Our self-centeredness is a terrible tyranny.

For God's two great commandments are first that we love him with all our hearts and secondly that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Sin, then, is the reversal of this order. It is to put ourselves first, virtually proclaiming our own autonomy, our neighbor next when it suits our convenience, and God somewhere in the background. Self-centeredness is a world-wide phenomenon of human experience is evident from the rich variety of words in our language which are compounded with 'self'. There are more than 50 which have a pejorative meaning—words like self-applause, self-absorption, self-assertion, self-advertisement, self-indulgence, self-gratification, self-glorification, self-pity, self-importance, self-interest and self-will etc.

Your thought life is something that must be controlled.  However, men and women have trouble controlling their thoughts in this world of pictures, movies, lust and memories.  With all of the images and imaginations that are presented to you each day, there is an indelible mark on your mind that causes your thought life to run to places you often don’t want to go. God knows about the effect of those images.  That’s why he warned the Jews to destroy the pictures in Canaan (Numbers 33:52).  Dr. Ruckman used to say, “The use of the imagination involves images.” So how can we stop these thoughts from coming into our heads?  The trouble is that they are held in the mind as strong holds according to 2 Cor 10:4. And they are not easy to get out. To make any progress with your thought life, you must understand where the thoughts are, what must be done with them, and how to do it.

Here’s a simple outline from 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:

• The thoughts in your thought life are in the flesh (2 Cor 10:3).

You received your wicked imagination from Adam and Eve because of their fall.  Jesus said that evil thoughts are in your heart, and they defile you.  Thus, they can trouble you until you die.  In Rom 7:18 Paul said. “…in my flesh dwelleth no good thing”.

• These thoughts exalt themselves against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5).

Thus, they are involved in the war between the flesh and spirit (Gal 5:17). When your mind runs to fleshly thoughts, it cannot be thinking godly thoughts at the same time. For instance, during a sermon, Bible reading, prayer or other spiritual endeavor, your mind may often run to something other than the preaching and you aren’t able to remember anything that was preached during that “day dream”.  What has happened is that your thoughts have exalted themselves against the knowledge of God.  They competed with the Spirit and blocked you from thinking about God.

• These thoughts lead to disobedience (2 Cor 10:6).

When you find yourself in disobedience, check your thought life first; that’s usually where the problem is.  Because you know that you cannot act on some of the things you think about in your thought life, you learn to derive pleasure from your thoughts alone.  This happens because of evil concupiscence.  Those thoughts are sin in and of themselves, Prov 24:9.  However, after catering to your lusts through wicked thinking, you may find it impossible to resist acting on those lustful thoughts, Prov 23:7.  You end up compounding the sin. Your thought life can lead you to sin if you do not keep it in check and renew your mind in Christ daily- put on the mind of Christ daily.

What does your thought life look like?

Your thought life is crucial as it impacts your feelings, beliefs, and actions. Your everyday life is deeply influenced by your thoughts. Do you struggle with negative thoughts, such as self-doubt, depression, anxiety, or unhealthy self-confidence? God says you are made in His image with a purpose to glorify Him and live on mission for His kingdom. Are you finding satisfaction in this purpose? The Bible shows that when in a relationship with Jesus, we can take back our thoughts and live in the freedom He has purchased for us.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 | For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

If you catalog your thoughts, are your strongest ones leading you closer to Jesus or away from him? Paul says, “Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world that goes all over the place, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Friends, if you want to change the direction of your life, you’ve got to start by changing the way you think, because your strongest thoughts are going to lead you wherever you are thinking. If you are thinking over here, it’s going to lead you that way. We’ve got to change our minds if we want to change the trajectory of our lives.

Patterns of thinking

One of those recent patterns of thinking in the world is that more is better. Have you ever felt that one? Like a little bit more money would be better. A little bit more food would be better. A little bit more of this or that would be better. If we get stuck in this “more is better” pattern of thinking and it can distract us from Jesus and pull us away and lead us away from him.

Another pattern of thinking that we can get stuck in and view the world through is this, happiness is the ultimate end or is the greatest good. An example of that is like, well, I’m going to do whatever makes me happy right now. I’m going to do what makes my family happy. I want to just make my kids happy or my wife happy. Have you ever heard this, happy wife, happy life? Believing that happiness is the greatest good is a pattern of thinking. There is nothing wrong with happiness - but it’s not God’s greatest goal for you. He doesn’t just want to make you happy. He wants to sanctify you. He wants to save you. We can get stuck in this thinking that happiness is the greatest good, and that is a pattern that will draw us away from God and lead us away from Jesus. Other common patterns of thinking lately are around fear- fear of the economy, fear of viruses, etc. Another is fear of government overreach. These patterns of thinking will draw us away from Jesus and lead us away. It’s something that our thoughts can get stuck in and directed by. And instead of Jesus being the conductor of our train of thought, these things take control.

If these are the things that are conducting our train of thoughts, we’re just going to keep going like this. However, Jesus wants to invade your train of thought, and he wants to steer you and direct you. He wants to transform your life by renewing the way that you think. We need God’s help for this because we are being conformed. There’s just so much being pressed upon us in this world. We need Jesus to help us.

A tool to help us: The Reframing Principle

The reframing principle is a tool that helps you win the war in your mind. It requires recognizing your lens, recognizing what you are seeing the world through, and then reframing your perspective.

Scientifically your lens is called a cognitive bias. This is a bias in your thoughts, where your thoughts tend to direct themselves or where your thoughts are filtered through certain issues. Be honest about your lens and your cognitive bias. It may be hard to be honest about it, because it’s hard to recognize your own cognitive bias.

Reframe your vision by replacing your lens with a new lens from Jesus so that you can see correctly. This will allow you to think the way God wants you to think.

That’s why Paul says in Romans 12:2, he says, “Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world.” Don’t think in the same patterns. Don’t have those old lenses.” He says, “But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” He is saying that your life will be changed if you change the way that you think. You will be transformed.

Develop new lenses in the light of Jesus

The doctor can prescribe it and God can give you a new lens today, but it’s not going to be helpful unless you put it on every day. Every day say, “Lord, I’m putting on this new lens that you’ve given me to view reality through. When I see this, when I do that, when I’m over here, when I hear that, I’m going to see it and hear it through your lens, Jesus.” We need him to help us. I’m going to share with you the lens for me, that’s changing the way I see things. My old lens was I’m not talented enough to do great things for God. Here’s my new lens: I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to do great things for God.

God is far more interested in changing your mind than changing your circumstances. We want God to take away all the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But God wants to work on us first, because transformation won’t happen in your life until you renew your mind and your thoughts begin to change.

Why is it so important that you learn how to manage your mind?

• Because your thoughts control your life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts”. Your thoughts have tremendous ability to shape your life for good or for bad. For example, maybe you accept a thought someone told you when you were growing up: “You’re worthless. You don’t matter.” If you accepted that thought, even though it was wrong, it has shaped your life. You must choose what thoughts you will let affect you for good or for bad.

  
  

• Because the mind is the battleground for sin. All temptation happens in the mind. Paul says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB). One reason you get mentally fatigued is because there’s a battle in your brain 24 hours a day. It’s debilitating because it’s intense, and it’s intense because your mind is your greatest asset. Satan wants your greatest asset!

  
  

• Because it’s the key to peace and happiness. An unmanaged mind leads to tension. A managed mind leads to tranquility. An unmanaged mind leads to conflict. A managed mind leads to confidence. When you don’t try to control your mind and the way you direct your thoughts, you will experience an enormous amount of stress in your life. But a managed mind leads to strength, security and serenity.

  
  

Romans 8:6, NLT | “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace…”

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How do we take control of our thoughts:

• Our thoughts control our lives, but we can control our thoughts.

  Proverbs 4:23 reminds us we have a choice of what we think about. “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (NCV). Since you have a choice over what you think about, you don’t need to obsess over problems in your church/workplace/family. You don’t need to replay criticisms in your head. In fact, Paul instructs, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT). Nobody is forcing you to think about your fears, worries, and insecurities. You have a choice.

• Change must start in our minds.

  It’s tempting to think the changes you need to make are external—in your church, in your family, or in your behaviors. But change starts with your thoughts. That’s why Paul says this in Romans 12:2: “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.” (NLT). Your thoughts will either conform to the world around you or they will be transformed by God’s Word.

• We can change our feelings by changing our thoughts.

  Jonah did this in Jonah 2:7: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.” (TLB). Ministry certainly includes days when we feel hopeless. But we can choose, like Jonah, to keep our thoughts on God. Memorize Jonah 2:7 – it is a great verse to ponder over in those times of hopelessness. You have a choice in how you feel. Changing your thoughts is how you change your feelings.

• Our behaviors are based on beliefs.

  Think about any action in your life that you want to change. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” When you discover the triggering thought, you’ll know the underlying belief. You may discover that you’re acting on a wrong belief. That’s why Proverbs 14:15 says, “Fools will believe anything, but the wise think about what they do” (NCV). Don’t be a fool. Think about what you’re doing.

• Anytime we sin, it’s based upon a lie.

  Satan uses lies to tempt us to sin. He makes us doubt what God has clearly said in the Bible. Remember this: God will never lie. The Bible is always true. Satan knows just the right bait to hook you with sin. Take some time to understand the lie you’re believing that’s manifesting itself in sin. When you can clearly see the deception for what it is, you can say no to it.

• An unseen war is going on in our minds.

  Every day we are at war. Sometimes we become so casual in our relationship with the Lord that we forget we have an enemy. Satan’s battleground is our minds. Paul describes this war in Romans 7:19: “I do not do the good things I want to do, but I do the bad things I do not want to do” (NCV). The good news is, God has given us everything we need to win this war.

• To win this battle, we’ll need God’s Word and his Spirit in us.

  If you depend on your own strength to win the war, you’ll lose. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “We do live in the world, but we do not fight in the same way the world fights. We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses.” (NCV). God is the source of all truth. His Spirit and his Word set us free from sin.

• Our goal is to learn to think like Jesus.

  Jesus is the model for healthy, happy, and holy thinking. 1 Peter 4:1 says, “Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him” (MSG). Jesus understands all the deceptions, fears, and difficulties you’re facing. Nothing surprises him. No matter what you’ve been through, you can learn to think like Jesus.

• We need to repent by rethinking our life.

  The word repent means “to change your mind.” When you align what you think about anything with what God thinks about it, you’re repenting. We all need to do this. We have the power to change our thoughts—and change our actions in the process. As we align our thoughts with the Word of God, we’ll begin to have the same mind as Jesus (Philippians 2:5), along with the life and ministry that God wants us to have.

• Ask the Lord to guard and direct your mind.

  My mind is the place of my intellect, reasoning, and intentions; my behavior begins in my mind, and my mind is where spiritual transformation happens (Romans 12:2). The object of my regular thinking will determine how my days, years, and ultimately my life plays out. Everything starts in the mind. We must ask for the Lord’s protection, direction, and oversight of our mind.

• Recognize the source of self-focused and self-defeating thoughts.

  Given that my behavior begins in my mind, and my mind is where spiritual transformation happens, is it any surprise that the adversary wants to mess with my thinking?  Recognize the enemy, and fight him with God’s power and with Scriptural truth.

• Replace self-focused thinking with a God-focused mindset.

  To focus our minds on God requires some work. If we don’t take purposeful action to set our minds on Jesus Christ, then we’re allowing our minds to go anywhere it wants to go. I know where it will go, and it’s nowhere good.

The following verses help me to set my mind on things above, and not on earthly things:

Colossians 3:1-2 | If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 

 Romans 8:5 | For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Philippians 4:8 | Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

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Rest in the truth that you are accepted in Jesus Christ.

I’ll pray for the Lord to protect my mind, help me recognize the enemy, and work to keep my mind focused on God. Sometimes I will be successful, and sometimes I will not be. Over time, it will be more often the former. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are at peace with God.

Romans 5:1 | “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Romans 8:16-17 | In Christ, we are children of God and heirs along with Jesus. “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”

Our identity in Jesus Christ is the central fact that influences our present circumstances and determines our eternal future, and it is available by faith alone.

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Repeat the above steps daily.

 Meditate on all the scriptures we’ve looked at today. Meditation means you read them and think about them! You consider them heavily. Maybe you journal your thoughts, or you talk to someone else about them. It will be super helpful to think about God’s truth in the Bible. Part of the process of gaining control over your thoughts is replacing untrue thoughts with true thoughts. That starts in your knowledge of, and meditation on, the Bible.

It is our renewed minds that will discern God’s will clearly.

Psalm 119:9-11 | How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

David’s secret was a whole-hearted pursuit of God, internalizing his Word. A passion that fueled his heart and mind to live pleasing to the Lord.  When we engage the Word of God, really dig in, meditate on it, and memorize it with our whole heart and mind we express a holy desire for purity like David. All of God’s thoughts were precious to David and knowing God’s Word was the gateway to them.

Psalm 139:17-18 | How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them. If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 

The stream of consciousness in David’s life, while awake or asleep, revealed his desire to live out a deep, intimate delight in God shaping his godly manhood. David revealed this delight in Psalm 37:4.

Prayer

Jesus, we need you because this is a battle. There are so many things that are warring in our minds. We need you to direct our thoughts. We need you to help us think like you think about the world around us, about the issues that we’re facing, so that we can walk in a way that’s pleasing to you. God, would you transform our minds? Help us not to be conformed but show us and give us your thoughts in this life.

Help us to not repeat the same choices time and time again. Help us to not look back to our left or to our right but rather look to Christ alone. Under any pressure we may be enduring, help us to always choose the shortest path to obedience- not the longest- so that we may not wait- nor delay- nor struggle with ourselves and you, God. We thank you that as we obey, you will break forth in the kingdom, and You will immerse us in Your righteousness, joy and peace. In Jesus Name, Amen.