“May the Words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19: 13-14).
My husband, Phil, and I recently attended a “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” conference with speaker Mark Gungor. It was really encouraging, funny, and rather enlightening for both of us! ne of the things Mr. Gungor shared was how differently the male and female brains function. He explained how women’s brains can be thinking about several things at one time. He compared it to spaghetti, and I have also heard it described as a computer with several windows open at one time. Men’s brains, however, are designed to focus on one task at a time. He compared it to having things compartmentalized into boxes by topic. I have to tell you- I was a little jealous. Think about one thing at a time? Having a brain that has things organized neatly by topic and not all running together? The next thing Mr. Gungor shared with us was that men actually have a “Nothing Box”. When they are in their nothing box, they think about…you guessed it. NOTHING.
Oh, dear Jesus, how I want a Nothing Box! The moral of this story: we meditate all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. To meditate, according to the dictionary definition, is to “engage in thought or contemplation; reflect”. So, all of us are meditating on something (even if it’s nothing!) all the time. Some Eastern meditation, such as practiced in Buddhism and New Age religions, is all about emptying the mind. Basically, a nothing box, which I have confirmed that I (and most women) do not have! Meditation, as the Holy Spirit reveals to us through the authors of the Holy Scriptures, however, is all about setting your mind on the right things. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). We are to view all things through the lens of what will be our eternal home. We are only visitors here- strangers “living in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17). This world is not our home, and God wants us to remember that. Why? Because He knows that what we think about, we become. We are His children, called to be holy, which means “set apart”. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things“ ( Philippians 4:8).
How does God possibly expect us to do this in a world rigged to distract us?
He doesn’t- at least not on our own strength. God has graciously given His Holy Spirit to those of us who know Christ as Savior and Lord. We are supposed to call on Him- all the time- for help. It’s the way we abide. In a way, abiding is a form of meditating, because it requires keeping God and His Word in the forefront of your mind. It means continuously talking and intently listening for Him throughout your day. It takes a lot of effort and concentration at first, kind of like how it felt we first learned to drive. But after a while, it becomes our habit. We have to keep asking for the “mind of Christ” in each situation.
Don’t we already have the mind of Christ when we accept Christ as Savior? Yes. We are indeed a new creation- a new creation with the same old thought patterns and habits. For some reason, God wants us to walk through the process of “being transformed by the renewing of our minds.” I believe it is because we learn the joy of dependence on Him through the process. We see over and over that we can’t keep our mind on Him without His help. As we turn to Him again and again, we see and experience how He enables us to walk in His light, and see what an incredible blessing it is to walk through life with Him!
What will happen if we begin to practice this discipline? God’s Word tells us that too: “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).We will be transformed! And as we are transformed, we will begin to truly discern God’s will for our life. As we seek Him more, we will find Him more. Can it get any better than that? I mean, He created you- put together all your inmost parts and deepest godly desires. He knows everything about the past, present and future, and His banner over you is love. He has good plans for you. Wouldn’t it be incredible to begin to really live out the fullness of the life for which you were created? Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that you are living that life right now?
But notice something else. This verse also infers that if we are not purposeful about this, our “default” will be the world’s way of thinking. In other words- by not choosing one way or another, we still make a choice.
remember when I first became a follower of Christ, a dear friend shared with me her struggles with her “thought life”. Huh? Thought life? So God wants not only my actions, but my thoughts, too? That seemed kind of over the top. But now I understand why God does it this way – because it is our hearts He is really after, not our actions. It’s not that He doesn’t care about our actions – He does! But He knows that godly actions will be a natural outflow of a person who, in their heart, knows Him and is submitted to Him in love.
We can’t change our hearts- only God can do that. But we CAN change our mind, now that the Holy Spirit lives in us. As we choose what we think about and what we believe by an act of our will, we begin to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds“. As our mind is renewed, our actions naturally follow suit. As our actions repeat, they become our habits. As we persevere in the actions of “doing right”, it becomes our character- who we are in our heart. It all starts in your heart, and the only way to leave space open for God to change your heart is to make the choice to change your mind.
Memory Scripture
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their mind on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your incredible provision! May we fully take You up on all You offer. If we have heard all this before, let us not brush past it. Even Your most mature followers will never finish having their minds renewed until they reach heaven. Let us humbly accept the Word planted in us! All good and perfect gifts come from You, and the ability to choose to put our mind on You is certainly a precious gift. Stir us by Your Spirit to remember and believe that what You say is true, and Lord, give us the courage to live that out! Help us to become all You created us to be on this earth- to faithfully run the race You chose for us with boldness and perseverance. Help us to remember that we are strangers in this world, and nurture our longing for our heavenly home!
In Jesus Name, Amen.
