There is a battle going on for your mind and your thoughts. God knows and the devil knows that if they have your mind, they have you. If God has your mind, you will make decisions one way. If the devil has your mind, you will make decision another way.

This is why the devil will lie to you. He will lie to you about God, about others, and about you. He wants you to think something is true when it’s not.

  • He wants you to think wrongly about God. He wants you to think that He is unloving, uncaring, and not interested in you.
  • The devil wants you to think wrong about you. He wants you to think you are worthless, your life doesn’t matter, God can’t use you. He wants you to think your worse nightmare will come true.
  • The devil wants you to think wrong about others. He wants you to think you cannot trust anyone, they don’t really love you or like you. He wants you to assume the worse of others.

There is a war going on for your mind. Your thoughts can help you or they can hurt you. Your thoughts can affect your health, emotions, and personal relationships. Because your thoughts are so powerful, it will also impact your anxieties. One of the key weapons of defending yourself against anxieties is what you think. If you don’t think differently, you will never live differently.

A significant part of your spiritual growth deals with how you think and what you think about. Most of your anxieties occur when your thinking goes to places that are out of your control. God wants you to experience His peace and to do that you will need to your mind under His control and authority.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:5-9, NASB)

God gives you seven practices that help you defend yourself against your anxieties.

  • Practice #1 is the practice of joy.
  • Practice #2 is the practice of gentleness.
  • Practice #3 is the practice of awareness.
  • Practice #4 is the practice of calmness.
  • Practice #5 is the practice of prayer.

Today, we are going to focus in on the practice of thoughtfulness. When I say thoughtfulness I mean the deliberate act of reasoning, thinking, and setting your mind on God’s wisdom. What I want to do today is to show you what God says about your mind and your thoughts and help you to see how powerful they are and why its important to learn how to intentionally think rather than reactively think as a follower of Jesus.

Your thoughts are the most important thing about you

Number one, what you think is more important than anything else. Look at Proverbs 4:5-9 which says, “Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth. Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme [what you think is more important than anything else]; so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. She will place a garland of grace on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty” (HCSB). Wisdom is the practical application of God’s truth. Wisdom is the combination of thinking right and doing right. The person who has wisdom will be protected, esteemed and exalted by that wisdom. Wisdom is supreme. What you think is more important than anything else.

Your mind and your thoughts are so significant that Jesus said in Matthew 22, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment” (vs. 37, HCSB). What you think is the most important thing in your life. Jesus wants you to love God with your mind and thoughts.

  • This means you are going to start thinking about God in a way that displays that you are in love with Him.
  • You will start thinking about those He created in a way that demonstrates you love them.
  • You will start to think about yourself in a way that reveals a healthy love for you, as God’s creation. the way He wants you to think about you.
  • You will start to think about your situation or problems in a way that shows your mind is in love with your God.

When you have a mind that loves God, everything you think about is in the context of loving God. When your mind loves God, you think about everything differently. When your mind loves Good you will think about money differently, problems differently, your marriage differently, and sin differently. Once you start loving God with all your mind, you will start loving God with all your life. Your thoughts are the most important thing about you.

What you think is more important than anything else. Wisdom is supreme.

Your thoughts determine who you are

Number two, the way you think determines who you are. Let me explain this. Your mindset will establish the kind of person you are and will become. The decisions you make reflect how you think. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks within himself, so he is” (HCSB). The way you love others is based on what you think about love. How you manage your money is based on what you think about money. How you parent is determined by what you think about parenting. Your actions only reveal who you already are. As you think within yourself, so you are. If you want to change who you are, change your thoughts.

By the way, in the Bible the word “repent” shows up often. Most people understand the word “repent” to mean change direction. It actually means a change of mind that results in a change of direction.

When you start thinking about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent you begin to become those things and live out those things and experience the results of those things (Philip. 4:8).

  • Once you start thinking about what is true, you begin living by truth and being a truthful person.
  • Once you start thinking about honor, you become an honorable person who honors God, honors others, and honors yourself.
  • Once you start thinking about what’s right, you begin doing what’s right even when its difficult.
  • Once you start thinking about what’s pure, you begin living purely in your actions toward others.

As he thinks within himself, so he is.

This is why God’s Word says in Romans 12:2, “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” (NLT). As a Christian, the way God changes you is by changing the way you think. You play a part in this, you have some responsibility to work and develop your mind to think as a follower of Jesus so that you act like one.

This is why Philippians 4:8 says, Finally, brothers and sisters [they have the responsibility to do what’s next], whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. We will talk about how to do that as we look at this deeper over the next few weeks. Whatever you think about is the kind of person you will become. If you want to become a person of truth, a noble person, a right person, a pure person, a loving person and an admirable and excellent person you will have to change your thoughts. If you change the way you think you change your character. The way you think determines who you are. If you don’t like who are then change the way you think.

Your thoughts are shaped by others

Number three, your thoughts are shaped by others. You need people in your life to help you to think, reason, and challenge you mentally. Sometimes you need people to help you think with wisdom or to speak truth into your life. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about this.

  • Proverbs 14:7 says, “Stay away from fools, for you won’t find knowledge on their lips” (NLT). God’s Word describes a fool as someone who talks like or acts God does not matter. A fool is not going to help you think with wisdom. Instead of asking, “What does God want?” They will ask, “What makes you happy?” When it comes to relationships, finances, happiness, purpose, and meaning in life what God says doesn’t matter to the fool. “You won’t find knowledge on their lips.” When you are trying to renew your mind, think differently and deeper and more accurately you don’t want to be around the fools.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Bad company corrupts good character” (NLT). People have influence on you. Be careful. If you have “bad company” in your life they can impact how you think. They will lower your morals and your values. They will cause you to compromise your convictions. If you are not careful, bad company can shape your thoughts the wrong way.
  • Proverbs 11:14 says, “There is safety in having many advisors” (NLT). You need people to help you to think. That’s what an advisor is. It’s someone who is able to help you think through multiple issues about a particular subject. There is safety in having many advisors. Don’t try to think on your own. Get advice. Advisors help shape your thoughts. You will need to have people who help you think about relationships, parenting, finances, conflict, emotions, etc. It’s okay to sit down with someone and say, “Here is what I’m think. Here is what I afraid of or worried about, can you help me think through this.” There is safety in having many advisors. Your thoughts are shaped by others.
  • Proverbs 19:20 says, “Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life” (NLT). Let other godly people help shape the way you think. As you get their advice and instruction you will become wiser and wiser for the rest of your life.
  • Proverbs 20:18 says, “Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice” (NLT). You make plans all the time. You have financial plans, plans to get a new job, plans to get married, plans to have kids, plans for retirement, plans to do ministry, plans to grow spiritually, plans to lose weight, plans to become more peaceful, etc. For your plans to succeed you need to get good counsel. You need others to help you think through some issues. Your thoughts are shaped by others.
  • Proverbs 12:15 says, “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others” (NLT). Listen to what others are saying.

You cannot do this on your own. You need others to help you think and challenge your thoughts. God says over and over again that you need to let others help shape your mind. Make sure it’s the right others.

Your thoughts direct your life

Number four, your thoughts direct your life. The way you think determines where you go in life and how you behave. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life” (HCSB). The word “heart” in the Old Testament also refers to the mind. This is why another translation puts it this way, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (NCV). How you think directs your life. Your thoughts will direct your decisions. Your thoughts direct your emotions. Your thoughts direct what you will do and not do. Your thoughts run and control your life. What you think is the most important thing about you.

God’s Word says, “guard your heart above all else” and “be careful what you think.” If you want your life to be filled with and known by things like truth, hoor, purity you will need to think about these things. If you want a life that is admirable and excellent then you need to think about such things. Be careful what you think. This is why Philippians 4 says, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Your thoughts direct your life. Let truth direct it. Let honor direct it. Let what is right direct it. Let purity direct it. Let love direct it. Let excellence direct it.

Your thoughts can be renewed

Number five, your thoughts can be renewed. Look at Romans 12:2 which says, “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” (NLT).

Listen carefully, one of the reasons why believers struggle with knowing God’s will for their life is because they still think to much like the world. When you think like the world its hard to see God’s will, let alone follow it. It order to know God’s will you have to change the way you think. Once you start thinking about things that are true, honorable and right the lens of your heart begins to see things more clearly. When you start thinking about whatever is lovely, commendable and excellent and praise worthy your spiritual vision and understanding become clearer and sharper. What you think is the most important thing about you.

God is real clear about something here. He says He is going to “transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” As a follower of Jesus, the Bible says you are a new creation and you have a new heart. You are saved, born again, and a child of the King. But many believers don’t live like it. The reasons is they haven’t learned how to think like a follower of Jesus yet. They still think about money the old way, relationships like they use to, they still think about themselves like they use too. The way you become a person of truth, a person of honor, a person of purity, and a person of excellence is by changing the way you think. You cannot become the person God wants you to be without changing the way you think. What you think is the most important thing about you.

Conclusion

Your mind is a battlefield. Your thoughts impact how you feel and what you do. Your thoughts determine the direction of your life and who you are. God says take captive every thought and pay close attention to what your mind thinks about. As a follower of Jesus, you need to think like one in every aspect of your life. You will need help. Allow others to help you think. You can do this. God has equipped you and will help you to think right and to love Him with all your mind.