Renewing Our Minds

Source: www3.canisius.edu

So much of the victory we experience as Christians depends upon the condition of our minds.  Our thought lives dictate the days we live, the hopes we have, and the entire outlook we have on life.

We've talked about renewing our minds on the blog before.

One of the most transformative things I've learned in recent years (with the help of CBT), is that behind every feeling lies a THOUGHT.

Here's a simple example from the past month in my own life:  I drove to the grocery store a few weeks ago, with tears streaming down my cheeks because I had left my kids behind at the house, working on their homeschool work.  This is a new experience for our family, as my kids have aged up and can be left home alone for a bit.

I felt silly, wiping tears away as I pulled into the parking lot.  But I didn't let myself stop there, like I used to in years past.  Instead I probed a bit deeper: What was the thought behind this feeling of sadness that I was experiencing?

Then the thought quickly materialized: my kids no longer need me.

Once I saw the thought behind the feeling, I could see it for what it was, and I quickly realized how untrue it really was!

Of course my children still need me!  They will need me in different ways, as they get older, but they will always need me in profound ways over the course of their lifetimes.

In that moment, I was able to wipe away my tears and grocery shop with a new found confidence.  I had felt the feelings, had processed them (instead of stuffing them or distracting myself from them), and I had walked through to the other side of them with a keener understanding of truth.

I believe this is the process that the Scriptures talk about in Romans 12:2:

"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."

One of the most powerful resources I have come across that instructs us on how to biblically renew our mind is the book Switch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf.  Through this book, Dr. Leaf introduces a 5-step process we can use to gather our negative thoughts, analyze them in the light of biblical truth, and proactively replace them with God's word.  This is a systematic process that takes 21 days.  Thankfully, Dr. Leaf also has a workbook and a mobile app that make it easy to apply the principles she lays forth in her book.  I have personally used the app since last fall,and it has been helpful because it walks me through this 5-step renewal process using a series of daily prompts.

Dr. Leaf's book has showed me, and stepped me through, the process of renewing my mind where the rubber meets the road in my daily life.  I always knew the verse in Romans 12, and I understood that renewing my mind was crucial to my spiritual health, but I just never really know how to go about doing it, until now.

I hope you will be encouraged through this resource, too, dear friend!  May we both endeavor to renew our mind with the Word of God, each and every day, and may it make an impact in how we live our daily lives.