2 September 2022
Scripture
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NLT
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.
Philippians 4:4-9 NLT
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. 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. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Devotion
Our thoughts are very powerful and our thinking can either have a positive or negative effect upon all aspects of our lives. Our thoughts are the ‘seeds’ that will eventually direct our actions, so they are very powerful!
One morning in the car on my way to work, I was thinking some very negative thoughts: how tired I was, how much I had to get done that day and how I was going to deal with a challenging situation that I was facing. Overwhelmed with negative thoughts and imagery, I began to feel quite hopeless and sad.
I suddenly caught myself spiralling emotionally and said, “Hang on a minute, what am I doing? Stop it!”. I then began to pray instead and ask Jesus to help me with my tiredness, with all the tasks that lay ahead and to turn the challenging situation in my life around. As soon as I started to change the way that I was thinking by praying instead, it immediately had a positive effect on my mood and my emotions started to change from negative to full of faith. In just a few minutes, my thinking had helped change my life!
The Bible encourages us to change the way we think and to renew our minds daily. We live in a very negative world sometimes and with so many mental health issues plaguing us, we need to be diligent in how we allow ourselves to think. We need to have the ‘mind of Christ’. What does that look like? Simply put, it’s having our mind fixed on God and the possibilities that God can create in our lives. It’s having a mind that, even when faced with troubled circumstances, believes that there will be a change, an answer to prayer, a turn-around and a ‘lift’ in our circumstances.
Jesus demonstrated this with His life here on Earth; No matter what situation He came across— whether it was someone who was blind, someone who was deaf or someone who couldn’t walk— He brought about a change. God has the solution and His kingdom is superior to this kingdom that we live in. His Word tells us that nothing is impossible for those who believe so with a renewed mind, we can cultivate faith and see the most impossible situation turned around for God’s glory.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
I want to think like You do. I want my mind to be renewed and to line up with Your Kingdom. I ask You today to forgive me for entertaining doubt and fear in my thinking. Please cleanse my thoughts and help me to fill my mind with the good things of Your Kingdom. Help me to respond with faith in my thinking and to see that in ALL circumstances, You are greater.
I pray all this in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
