Your mindset can make or break you; knowing how to renew your mind will decide the course of the rest of your life. The way we use our minds dramatically impacts the way we see ourselves. When we use our minds negatively to perceive ourselves, our past, and the things we have gone through, we will end up feeling bad. We fill our minds with negative thoughts and may even develop a low self-esteem.
We all want to feel good and positive about ourselves. The truth is, we often look down on ourselves and feel less than others (especially when we compare ourselves with others). These feelings and thoughts develop in our minds, not in our hearts. It is the way we perceive things that causes us to feel inferior, and not the way things are.
The way we use our minds plays a major role in developing feelings of negativity and low self-confidence. The good news is that we can learn how to control our minds. We can overcome negative feelings and having unwanted thoughts by knowing how to control our minds.
If we want to know how to transform our minds, we first need to grasp what our mind are and what God says about it.
What is your mind?
Your mind is the part in you that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and (especially) reasons. Your mind enables you to be aware of the world around you and your personal experiences. It enables you to think.
Did you know that your mind includes both your thoughts and your feelings? Feelings are a product of the mind, they are mental. Usually, when we hear the word ‘mind’ we consider ‘thinking’ and ‘reasoning’ and see ‘feelings’ as the opposite. But our feelings are part of our minds as well.
Our minds have both conscious and unconscious mental processes. This means we could know what we are feeling and thinking or not. In the latter case, thoughts and feelings are going on inside us without us being aware of it. Whether conscious or unconscious, those thoughts and feelings influence our lives, actions, and decision-making.
What does the Bible say about our minds?
Our minds are part of our soul. Our soul is our mind, conscience, emotions, and will. The Greek word for soul is Psyche. Psyche means soul, ‘breath of life’, or simply said ‘life’. The New Testament epistles mention ‘soul’ 105 times (KJV Bible), which shows how important our souls are to God. God sent His only Son to die for us to save our souls.
Your mind influences everything you do, think, and feel. As part of the soul, your mind plays crucial roles in your life, either positive or negative. It is important to understand how to control your mind and to learn to transform it in a positive direction.
If you allow your mind to rule you, your mind will take you to undesirable ‘places’. Your mind has the power to let you think and feel negatively, to let you continually repeat experiences in your head, to let you repeatedly ‘hear’ things that people have said to and about you, and to let you act in specific ways, etcetera.
Though your mind is powerful, God’s Word is more powerful than that. With God’s help, it is possible to renew your mind. God created our minds, wouldn’t He be able to help us change the way we think?
How can I renew my negative thoughts?
Our minds are enormously powerful, whether or not we are aware of it. Our minds can harm us or do us good, depending on how we use it. If we get stuck in negative and unwanted thoughts, we can stop enjoying life how God meant it to be. We could even get depressed.
Our thoughts transform us into negative persons, eventually letting people shun our company. This, in return, can make us feel even more down. We enter a cycle of negativity because of the way we think and use our minds.
God’s Word makes it clear why that is:
“As a person thinks… so is he.”
Proverbs 23:7a (NKJV)
We become how or what we think. Our thoughts have the power to shape us, change us, and let us feel particularly. Our minds can lead us in a positive direction or a negative direction. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to our minds and the way we use them.
Even if you have entered negative thought patterns, it is possible to learn how to renew your mind in God and how to control your mind from unwanted thoughts. With the help of the Holy Spirit it is possible to get rid of negative thoughts spiritually.
Five biblical steps to transform your mind
Our minds are powerful and can lead us into a positive or a negative future. Knowing this is not enough, though, we must realize we can change our thoughts and our thinking patterns. And then… act. By taking steps, you can learn how to control your mind from unwanted thoughts.
Step 1: how do I transform my mind?
The very first step to knowing how to renew your mind is to grasp fully that your thoughts and feelings take place in your mind. This is important because you are not powerless when it comes to your mind! It is only when you understand you have the power to control your mind that you can change the way you think and feel.
God gave us minds, but it is up to us how to use them.
Step 2: God gave us the power to change our thinking
The next step is to move with the understanding our feelings of negativity and inferiority are products of our minds and that we can do something about it. Romans 12 verse 2 says (NKJV)
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
We can actively renew our minds, even if we have used our minds negatively all the time. This means we can do something about our thoughts and feelings, about the way we negatively think and feel. And we can do that by ourselves: by renewing our minds.
You can only know God’s will for you (which is good, pleasing, and perfect) when you are transformed by the renewing of your mind. A major way to renew your mind is to read God’s word. His word is not just mere text, it is alive and powerful!
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
Step 3: what does God say about our minds?
If we want to use God’s living Word to help us renew our minds, we first need to check what God’s word says about controlling our minds. We can’t use what we don’t know.
The Bible is full of verses about how to renew your mind and transform negative thinking. Each of those verses shows us it is possible to change the way we think and to learn how to control our minds.
Here are some scriptures about renewing your mind:
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Ephesians 4:23 (NKJV)
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 2:5 (NKJV)
All these verses show that controlling your mind is something you can do yourself. God gave you the power and the ability to control and transform your mind. This means you can change your mindset and, subsequently, the way you think and feel.
Step 4: act based on God’s Word
Act based on the word of God. Do not leave it at merely reading, but believe and use the word of God. Apply it to your daily life. Walk in it, live in it, apply it to every situation that confronts you.
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
James 1:23-25 (NKJV)
Step 5: make a conscious choice to be renewed
The last step is to choose to be transformed by the word of God. You can choose between being negatively shaped by your past thoughts and feelings or being positively transformed by God’s truth as you walk with Him. This is a conscious choice you need to make for yourself, no-one can do that for you.
When you open yourself up to God’s word, you open a gateway for God’s Spirit to transform your mind. By transforming your mind, you will learn how to control your mind.
When you apply these 5 steps consistently to your everyday life, you will live a victorious life.
How does the bible say to renew your mind?
We all wish to live a purposeful and enjoyable life. To enjoy your life without worrying, it is vital to know how to steer your mind through day-to-day life. If you cannot control your mind, you will live a haphazard life. Simply said, if you do not control your mind, your mind will control you.
It is important to learn how to control your mind; if not, your mind will lead you to undesired places, unpleasant feelings, troubling feelings, disturbing thoughts, incorrect actions, and unwanted behavior.
The good news is that God has provided us with all that we need to achieve an enjoyable, structured, and purposeful life. His Word confirms it is possible to renew your mind. With God’s help, you can follow the five biblical steps to renew your mind:
- Recognize that inferior feelings start in your mind.
- Realize that you can do something about your thoughts and feelings.
- Read God’s word.
- Act based on God’s word.
- Choose to be transformed by God’s Word.
How do we take these steps practically?
We can renew our minds biblically by following the above five steps in our day-to-day lives.
- Read God’s Word and apply what you read.
- Pray and let God’s Spirit lead you.
- Put the word of God into action and see your mind being changed.
- Control your mind and live a victorious Christian life.
God created you as an intelligent being. He crafted you in your mother’s womb and blessed you with a mind. You can do wonderful things with your mind! We often abuse this power of our minds.
You don’t have to allow your thoughts and feelings to control you, but you have the active power to control and renew your mind. You can receive God’s Word to help you control your mind.
Submit your will and mind to God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you renew your mind. You can’t do it alone. I cannot do this alone. No one can do that all by herself. You can reach out to God; He will hear you and help you. He will lead you and guide your ways.
It is God’s desire for you to have a renewed mind, a mind that reflects Jesus.
Christel Owoo is a professional Life Coach with ACC-credentials from ICF.
She is passionate about helping women gain confidence.
Do you want to gain confidence in life and live fully in your God-given potential?
In my opinion, you were able to express the verity in your first lines with the phrase that our mindset can break or make us because there is not something more precise than that statement. Really often we underestimate the power of our mind but it is truly great because our mindset can affect our life in such a global way. It is so significant to be able to control your mind to contribute to the desired course of life events. Of course, all people know that our mind is such a complex mechanism but no one truly knows how it operates and what capacity it has. You can’t imagine how much I have always wanted to learn to control my mind because really often it has a destructive effect on me and your article is like a magic pill. Your idea of renewing the mind is so incredible and close to me because God’s word has a Immense power and can impact us in a magnificent way, but really often people neglect it.
Wow! That’s great to hear, that the article has impacted you so positively. Grateful to God. Yes, our minds are complex; made by a wonderful and complex God. And yes, God’s Word is powerful and alive, it transforms us. God bless you for sharing your testimony. God continue to be with you and protect your mind.