Transformation by Thought

September 9, 2021

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT

All of us have some level of desire to be feel better, act better, and be better. There is a way to get there. There is a tried-and-true way of getting to the life you want and the legacy of which you dream—science and Scripture both agree that way is between your ears—it’s your mind, the set of your thoughts.

Truth be told, this is hard for many Christians to hear. The relationship between faith and science has been long and wrongly competitive and acrimonious for many. It was hard to acknowledge anything in science as being truthful. But science actually is more and more confirming the things we find in Scripture, not contradicting them.

For instance, science is showing what Scripture says about us making a direct contribution to our own transformation by deliberately choosing the way we think. Dr. Caroline Leaf (Communications Pathway researcher) says this in her book, Switch on Your Brain: “As we think, we change the physical nature of our brain. As we consciously direct our thinking, we can wire out toxic patterns of thinking and replace them with healthy thoughts.”

Changing the way you think changes your perspective, which changes how you act in the world. Paul’s words weren’t a new idea that he came up with. “Change your mind” was the central theme of Jesus’ first sermon (Matthew 4:17). It was revolutionary to them as well. But Jesus, the Creator, knew how we are made. He challenged people to change their thinking because He knew nothing else will change us. His hearers then didn’t have access to a Bible. (Isn’t it amazing to realize that more people will spend eternity with Jesus who DIDN’T have a personal Bible than those who did?) What an awesome God and how privileged we are! But they repeatedly heard teaching. Today we have the Word available in numerous ways to us.

But Jesus challenged people to change their thinking and still challenges us because regardless of how many times you read through the Bible, how many messages you hear, if your mind doesn’t change, you will simply impose your biases and labels on the words you read and filter away truth. You will come away from the presence of transformational opportunity being completely unchanged.

Changing the way we think is the way to transformation and knowing God’s will. Change your mind!

• Transformation starts and continues with my thought life. Help me, Jesus.