Renewing of the Mind

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." -- Romans 12:2

This verse came to mind this evening as I sat thinking about what to write for a blog post. I haven't written in days, so I ought to write something, I told myself.  Yet, as I sat debating what to write (and knowing that I have a long list of things I want to eventually write about), I felt no motivation to begin. Lately, my thoughts have been leaning more often on the negative side.  Whether due to poor "training" or my melancholy nature, I have struggled with having a negative perspective for many years. This is another thing that our premarital counselor told me that I would need to repeatedly turn over to the Lord for help. He said I would need to learn how to re-train my mind to not fall into old habits. Over time, the Lord has taught me how to re-train my mind to rely on His strength, to see things through the lens of God's Word...in other words, how to think positively through the perspective of Jesus Christ!

Though I walk in a relationship with the Lord, I am unfortunately still stuck with my sin nature so long as I live on this side of Heaven. So, I have days where I don't feel positive and don't feel motivated to do much.  If I'm not careful, my brain will do what it does best -- take rabbit trail after rabbit trail of thoughts...in this case, negative ones.  If I'm not on guard and don't realize what's happening, I might miss some blessing the Lord has given me, miss something He's trying to teach me, or miss a way in which He wants me to serve Him.

After having a weekend that should have left me feeling rejuvenated and encouraged, I felt quite discouraged last night. My mind started going down all sorts of rabbit trails!  In my case, sleep was needed to bring things back into perspective. I had a pretty good day at work with a few minor frustrations, but nothing I can't handle.  So why was I all in a panic on the way home wondering what I would be doing with my time this evening?  I don't like feeling like I waste my evenings debating what to do and yet not feeling motivated to do much of anything.  I walked in the door braced for disappointment.  Tonight, Tom came to my rescue as he stepped around the corner and into the kitchen where I was standing. He had a big grin on his face simply because he was glad to see me. He embraced me and for the next two hours, he expressed his affections toward me while he rubbed my back, and while we had a humorous discussion about human anatomy, went to the grocery store, and had dinner. It brings tears to my eyes as I realize that once again, Tom is God's reminder to me that He loves me and cherishes me like Tom does...more than Tom does!

After he went upstairs to take part in his video game night with the guys, I watched a movie and then sat staring at my computer trying to decide what to write. That's when this verse came to mind.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." -- Romans 12:2

Have you ever read a verse so many times that you discover God's new revelations to you about that verse?  Depending on your circumstances or what God's trying to teach you at any moment, He may show you something else about a particular verse, or emphasize a part of the verse more than another in your mind.  I have read this verse many times and love it!  I think I may have mentioned it (and plan on mentioning it again) in my other posts, but for different reasons.

Tonight, this verse is more personal than ever; I'll try to explain how each part spoke to me tonight.  I should not conform to the pattern of this world: in my case, I should not allow my sin nature to dictate/control my actions or my thoughts.  I must be transformed by the renewing of my mind:  the Lord says to "Remain in me" (John 15:4), so I must always continue to dwell on the Lord, or return to seek His face when my mind has wandered. Remaining Christ-focused instead of Me-focused will renew my mind so that I have more joy, more understanding and discernment, and the encouragement that comes from the Lord.  If I do this, then I will be able to test and discern (discover and understand) what God's will is:  He will give me the guidance I need to take the next step that He wants me to take. I will be better able to understand and see the ways in which He is meeting my needs and encouraging me (such as working through people close to me, like my husband).  If I do not heed this verse, then He will still give me guidance and will still meet my needs and show His love and encouragement, but I will not be able to recognize or understand any or much of it.

As my husband told me this evening, each new day is a gift from God; sleep is a good illustration of God giving me the chance to renew my mind and wake up with a Christ-perspective in the morning.  Though I'm not perfect at it, I pray that with the Lord's help, I'm getting better!