The Transformed Mind

I listened to a sermon recently from one of my favorite pastors, Bill Johnson, on the transformed mind. I have heard about the transformed mind so many times, but the way he put it in this particular message allowed its magnificence to hit me with fresh conviction. I’ve found that growing up in a Christian home, that’s what I am most in need of: fresh revelation on the most foundational truths of our faith. Truths like: Jesus loves me. I am an ambassador of Christ reconciling the world to Him and not counting their sins against them. Nothing in all of creation can separate me from the love of Christ. And without faith it is impossible to please God. I will never, no never outgrow these truths. I will always be in need of a personal revival of some sort. My heart is prone to forgetfulness and coldness where there ought to be the eager retelling of all God has done for me, and a blazing burning in my chest for my purpose on the earth. The lukewarm heart is such a bore!

The Transformed Mind

What I think about matters. For the most formative years of my life, I was under authority. My parents dictated eating, sleeping, waking schedules in a healthy way. My teachers dictated learning and playing and exploration. Even now, society and the world and the church dictate how I live. But in my mind, in each of our minds, we are without rival in control. As a Believer, it is so necessary that we do what 2 Corinthians 10 says, and take our thoughts captive to make them obedient to Christ. Our thoughts make or break us.

In the transformed mind sermon, Bill Johnson talked about the fact that what a person meditates on creates an environment around them. They carry their attitudes with them into the world, and it either brings peace or destroys it. I first doubted that, but the more I thought about, the more I realized how many times I’ve seen how when someone who’s angry walks into a room the entire room feels a little bit tense. Or how when someone who is elated walks in, it feels a little lighter. Without having to say a word, our thoughts affect others.

It reminded me of how my dad was always joking, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Being a mom myself now, I am at first tempted to resent my dad for saying that. But then I see the truth of it. Because I am the one primarily in the home, and I spend the most time around my kids, my attitudes basically dictate the environment of my home. If I am stressed, our house looks crazy, my kids are feeling neglected and therefore acting up, and my husband walks home and into my chaotic mental state that has erupted all over. It is such a significant privilege to be a mom, but with it comes a great weight of responsibility.

Now that I have two little people, I have to check my negativity at the door. I have to purposefully not look on pinterest until I’m an aching mess of disappointment, and I have to avoid watching the primped and beautiful world on TV so that I end up feeling ugly, worthless, and insecure. I cannot afford to have my mind be a place of anything that doesn’t honor God, because it creates a momentum in our home. What I think about manifests itself in what I say, how I treat my kids, and how I relate to life.

About a week ago, I started realizing how much self-hatred still had its nasty talons in my heart, and every time I looked in the mirror I’d waste long minutes distressed over my appearance and flaws. And I suddenly felt like the Lord said, “Charis, you have a choice to make. You can either let vanity be your god, or you can let Me be your God.” Vanity can be the voice in my head, or the Spirit of Truth can. It’s not a very hard choice. But I still have to choose. 

My kids desperately need a mom who has a transformed mind, so that they can operate in a environment that honors the presence of God.

Like Romans 8:6 says, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Isn’t that what we want for our kids? Life and peace? Then we must make it our primary business to have a transformed mind that is submitted to the Spirit of God.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2

What are your thoughts on The Transformed Mind?

Copyright © Charis Freije, Moms of Faith®, All Rights Reserved