“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there by any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS.” (Philippians 4:8).
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8, 9).
How many times have you heard somebody say, “That can’t be done,’ when someone had a dream or idea of doing something big? There are pastors who have presented building programs or other projects to their church only to see is come to a screeching halt by this wrong attitude of negativism and defeat.
If we’re not careful, a worldly attitude can get into the church, and that attitude will stop faith in its tracks. How can we avoid this trap? By prayer and by reprogramming our thinking in line with the Word of God.
The world programs us to think negatively, but Romans 12:2 says, “ . . .be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
We can be transformed—changed—from having a negative attitude to having a positive attitude by spending time in God’s Bible. We cant rain ourselves to think in line with the Word of God, not with the world.
If you’re familiar with computers, you know that someone has to program it before it will function. If a computer “crashes,” it will most likely have to be programmed. A computer will only do what it is programmed to do. In a sense, our mind is the greatest computer ever made. God put it together with memory banks in which to hold or store certain information. And your “computer” will only do what it has been programmed to do.
For example, if you grew up in a home where your parents were negative and critical, then you have probably dealt with being negative and critical yourself. But the good news is, you can take the Word of God and reprogram your mind. And as the Word instills a positive mental outlook, it will also override a negative one. You can use the Word of God to “delete” your old way of thinking and replace it with a new way of thinking to help you press on to victory.
What new thoughts do we think? Remember the very first scripture that we mentioned from Philippians 4:8? Notice that it’s not the way the world thinks. For instance, most of the things reported b y the news media do not fit the criteria laid out in this verse. Although the news reports of events may be true, they are often not pure, lovely, admirable, or praiseworthy.
Thank God, some of the things reported by the media are admirable and praiseworthy. But by far, most of the things we hear and see are negative. If we’re not careful, we can start to think about those things more than about the Word of God.
We know that wrong thinking produces wrong believing. Wrong believing produces wrong actions, and wrong actions will produce wrong results. But right thinking, believing, and acting in line with God’s Word will help us develop a positive outlook and produce whatever we need from God’s Word!
Did you ever notice that God blesses people who come to Him with thanksgiving and an attitude of confidence? For instance, take Caleb’s attitude: “Give me this mountain—not because of who I am, but because of who God is” (Joshua 14:12)!
God blesses people who will take hold of His Word and refuse to let go. God blesses those who are confident in Him and His Word and who are positive in spite of negative circumstances.
You can’t take hold of the Word and let it dominate your thoughts and actions without becoming a positive person. Likewise, you can’t be a person of the Word and be negative—unless you allow your natural mind to take over.
A RENEWED MIND IS POSITIVE AND STEADFAST
Your natural mind is governed by your senses—what you can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. The natural mind will always lean toward being ruled by circumstances, whether good or bad. But the mind renewed with the Word of God remains positive and steadfast no matter how dark the circumstances.
The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. The devil is not! The Holy Ghost will nudge you and lead you in line with God’s Word, and bring scriptures to your remembrance that you have read or heard. But the devil will throw wrong thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word. IF you don’t’ stand against hose thoughts and chase them away with the Word of God, the devil will take over! He will try to take over your mind and your life.
2nd Corinthians 10:5 says, “CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every though to the obedience of Christ.”
We must keep watch over what goes into your minds. This can certainly be a challenge in our day of “instant communication.” The technology of this generation is a mixed blessing. For example, we can know what happened on the other side of the world within minutes of the actual event. That can have a negative effect because through this instant communication, we are bombarded with live coverage of the aftermath of things such as school shootings, police chases and standoffs, and even war!
We didn’t have the communications technology during World War 2 that we have today. In those days, by the time the American public heard any news about a particular battle, two or three weeks had passed. However, during the two Gulf Wars, we received minute by minute coverage, saw footage of planes flying over targets, and watched real bombs explode before our very eyes!
Psychological dangers are associated with receiving constant negative communication. Medical science holds convincing evidence that people who are negative, or who live in a negative environment, have more physical ailments and recover less quickly than those with a positive outlook.
Of course, we who know something about the Bible have known this all along! Your Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” You see, you cannot have a cheerful heart and be negative at the same time.
We need to do all we can to receive faith-building words into our lives, not negative, destructive words. We can do that by maintaining a consistent devotional life, and beginning each day with thanksgiving to God. We need to fellowship with Him continually and make time daily for reading His Word.
The devil and this world will constantly bombard our mind to try to pull our attention away from the Word and onto negativism—fear, doubt, and unbelief. The devil knows that if he can get our attention off the Word and focused on negative thoughts instead, he can defeat us.
Some Christians read the Word one time and think they are renewing their mind. It’s a continual process, and we must do it if we want to break the power of negativity in our lives.
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND FOR THE BETTER
“Pastor, how are we going to change our mind—our attitude and our thinking?” Romans 12:2 says, “And be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing or your mind.”
God wants us to be transformed, changed, by the renewing of our mind. He wants us to become established in His Word to the point that when a problem arises, His Word is the first thing that comes out our mouth. In other words, we respond to the tests and trials of life with the Word, not with our own natural reasoning.
Remember that right thinking produces right believing, and right believing produces right acting. Many people are only mentally agreeing with what the Bible says, but God wants us to believe it! He wants us to believe it so much that we will act on it. Only then will we see the results that we desire.
When someone believes something, he acts like it’s so. For instance, let’s say you live near a pond, and in the dead of winter, the pond freezes over. You say to your friend, “I believe that ice is thick enough to walk on.” Your friend responds, “Yes, I agree.”
Then you say, “Well, since you agree, just go ahead and step out on the ice.” Your friend replies, “Well, uh, I believe the ice is thick enough, all right, but I’m not going to sep out on it.”
Your friend doesn’t really believe that ice will hold him up. You see, many people will quickly agree with God’s Word, but when it comes to actually putting His Word to the test, not nearly as many will do that! They won’t go that far, because they’re not committed to the integrity of God’s Word.
When you believe God’s Word from your heart, you will act like it’s so. You will be positive in your attitude. You will rejoice with praise and thanksgiving. Why? Because you know that your God is El-Shaddai, the God Who is more than enough and who helps you press beyond your limits in time of trouble.
