Renewing Your Mind

“Do not conform 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

What is the “renewal of the mind”? For a long time, I thought maybe this meant a paradigm shift, a change in one’s thinking or maybe a rigorous experience that caused a fresh outlook. This is, perhaps, a shallow and superficial view on this verse of Romans. Paul was always moved by the Holy Spirit to write to communities and individuals either in response to stories he heard about them or to reveal further the nature of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. By the twelfth chapter of Romans, Paul has already written about becoming dead to sin, life through the Spirit and being more than conquerors. Evidently, he is imparting invaluable information to the church of Rome.

With this in mind, what does “renewal of the mind” actually mean? I realised that renewal of the mind is far from superficial, it’s a profound change in the thinking of an individual as a result of an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Recently, I have been battling a spirit of guilt and condemnation. This is a spirit that convinces someone that they aren’t worthy to be loved by God because of something they may have said, thought or done. This is obviously a lie because we, as Christians know and firmly believe that there is no condemnation in Christ, but when you are harassed by this spirit for long enough, even a lie can become your reality.

There are so many detrimental impacts of having a spirit of guilt and condemnation which I won’t delve into just now, but the long and short of it is, it never stops. It can affect your physical health and make you emotionally drained and tired, it steals your joy and it’s like a perpetual terror that you can never escape. Furthermore, it’s impossible to combat this spirit alone, no matter how much you may try to justify yourself, you cannot disentangle yourself from a web of lies, in fact, the more you struggle the more difficult it becomes to escape. This is when I discovered the truth in Hebrews 4:12.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

This Scripture revealed to me that the only way to fight the devil and his lies truly is to use the word of God. The word of God is alive in the sense that it is always applicable. It was essential 2000 years ago and it’s essential today. All throughout the Bible, we realise the character of God and His truths dispel the lies and break the chains that keep us captive. This is renewing your mind. When you ask God to give you His Holy Spirit, who already dwells in you, He will show you God’s true character and light up all the dark places in your life. In this instance, I realised that the Bible is full of Scriptures that explain the goodness of God, how He forgives and forgets, how He makes our scarlet sins as white as snow. The lies I was believing about God originated from the fact that I didn’t really know His character, and the devil, in his cunning, was able to use that to widen the chasm between us. Thankfully, the Lord gives His children wisdom, power, authority and no good thing will He withhold from them so that we can overcome every scheme of Satan.

Your situation may not be similar at all, everyone’s challenges are different, however, the point is that God can free you from any perennial problem and debilitating addiction through the renewal of your mind. This is such a powerful tool that is underestimated because of its simplicity. If you study God’s word, He will give you discernment to hear His voice and understand His commandments. He frees us through the knowledge of His goodness and mercy but the only way to know for yourself and truly experience the fullness of joy is to renew your mind.