Set Your Mind – Part 2

Do not conform any longer 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. Romans 12:2

If a skunk gets into the crawl space under your house, opening the windows and using air freshener won’t solve your problem! There are people who actually specialize in dealing with skunks. They’re called ‘skunk whisperers’, and it’s not cheap to have them come to your home. But it’s worth it to get rid of the problem. How does all this relate to your thinking? Simply this: your feelings are the odors and your thoughts are the skunk! To change your feelings, you must go to the source and deal with the thing that produced them – how you think. Thoughts produce feelings, not the other way around. Worried people tend to think anxious thoughts, and eventually those thoughts become so automatic that, like a lingering skunk odor, you stop noticing and learn to live with it. You get used to ‘stinking thinking’! Your thought patterns become as habitual as brushing your teeth. You get so accustomed to thinking bitter, anxious, selfish thoughts that you stop paying attention. If you want to change the quality of your life, you must change the way you think. The psalmist prayed, ‘Test me and know my anxious thoughts’ (Psalm 139:23). God will help you become aware of what’s going on in your mind from one moment to the next. He’ll direct you to the place where the skunk lives and help you deal with it. Not only will He show you how to remove wrong thoughts, but how to replace them with the right ones by setting your mind on ‘what the Spirit desires’ (Romans 8:5).

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to shed off stinking thinking and to have thoughts of what Your Spirit desires. In Jesus’ Name, Amen