Perhaps there is no more important a task for the Christian (after Salvation) than renewing the mind. Satan’s ploy for the Believer is to steal, kill, and destroy, according to John 10:10. He is strategic in launching his plan of attack in many ways, not the least of which is what you think of yourself, your situation, and those around you. The enemy can send one casual, seemingly insignificant thought, that if left unattended, can wreak all types of havoc in the quality of your life. What seemed like a fleeting thought can easily become a rabbit hole of doubt, unbelief, and fear, when our authority in Christ is not exercised.
As a young single mom, I spent much of my early years of parenting riddled with fear – fear that I wasn’t a very good mom, fear that I wouldn’t have enough, fear that my children wouldn’t be okay. The enemy sent one fearful thought after another, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Consequently, I spent a good deal of time worrying, fretful, panicked, and sometimes, even ashamed. I didn’t know my identity in Christ and certainly didn’t come into full understanding of my authority until years later.
Moms, while every Christian needs to get really good at renewing their minds, it is all the more important for you, as you raise your children up in the way they should go. They will often emulate what they see. The more they see you take authority in Christ over your thoughts, the more they will likely learn to do it for themselves, as a natural part of their Christian journey.
The mind is defined as what we think, remember, believe, reason, or desire. In order to have complete freedom in Christ – whole, healed, and free in every area - we must learn to become unstuck in our minds, but how do we do that? Below are five simple, yet powerful, ways to renew your mind:
1. Identify ungodly belief patterns.
We must ask ourselves, "Is what I'm thinking on right now true according to God's Word?" We are bound in our minds, because we have not considered what we're thinking about. We have not analyzed whether our thoughts line up with Scripture. Our belief patterns are formed over time by parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, and culture at large. And many of those belief patterns are not congruent with Scripture. Too many of us have allowed whatever came to mind to stay in our minds without really evaluating its merit. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In order to truly be transformed, we must do the hard, but necessary, work of identifying habits and patterns in our thoughts that have existed in our lives for years. We cannot be lazy as it pertains to our thinking. We cannot allow every thought to simply be there. We must think about what we’re thinking about!
2. Take every thought captive.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." We have all authority to make thoughts obey, as the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives inside us. We cannot prevent Satan from sending an ungodly thought to us, but we absolutely have control over what happens to it after it arrives in our minds. We can rebuke it. We must rebuke it. We have authority to take every thought captive, accept it, if it lines up with Scripture, or dispel the lie, if it is from the enemy. When we have thoughts about “never being good enough” or “never having enough” or “never being able to get ahead” or “being alone forever”, we must begin to analyze these thoughts against the Word of God to evaluate their legitimacy.
3. Meditate on God's Word.
"Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against thee." Ps. 119:11. The more of God's Word we know, the easier it is to dispel every lie of the enemy. After we have taken thoughts captive and rebuked them, when necessary, it is critical to then replace them! We cannot forget the replacing part! We must replace each ungodly thought with the godly thought that aligns with Scripture. When we hear in our mind, “you will never be able to get it all done.” We must take that thought captive and replace it with, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13). When we don't know God's Word, however, it is very hard to identify whether our thoughts are lies from the enemy or truth from the Holy Spirit. When we do know His Word, this process of rebuking and replacing thoughts becomes easier and easier, especially over time and with intention. This is why daily reading of the Word matters. This process of rebuking lies from the enemy and being transformed by replacing them with God's Word is where true freedom from the battle in the mind happens!
4. Think about kingdom things.
Too many Believers are focused on how to get through the day, barely treading water, battling from problem to problem, and not focused on Kingdom things. We are concerned about carpool and Netflix and office drama and things that simply do not equate to Kingdom purpose. Col. 3:2 says to "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth." The more we think of spreading the Gospel, service to others, honoring the Lord with our day-to-day actions, living holy lives, operating in joy that touches others, and the like, the more our thoughts align with the mind of Christ.
5. Repeat.
Make the 4-part process above habitual. Many you have spent 20, 30, or 40 years forming the habits of thinking ungodly patterns. We must now renew our minds, according to the Word of God, rebuke the lies of the enemy OUTLOUD, and proclaim the Word of the Lord over ourselves. There is life and death in your tongue. There are blessings and curses flowing from your lips. This process is simple and yet powerful and effective.
Here is a sample proclamation to take a though captive:
"You lying enemy. I rebuke you now in the name of Jesus. I rebuke every lie from the Kingdom of darkness. I cannot fail. The Spirit of God that raised Christ lives within me. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I come out of agreement with every tormenting thought that does not align with who my God says I am. Go now, in Jesus' mighty name. I proclaim now the word of the Lord upon myself and those around me. I shall live the abundant life in every area, according to the word of God. In Jesus’ name! "
WHO WE ARE
The Life of a Single Mom is a national, faith-based, nonprofit that exists to see that no single mom walks alone. To date, the organization has worked with hundreds of churches to start a single mom’s support group in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as having served hundreds of thousands of single mothers with a variety of programs. Offering a large array of books, curriculum, training materials, online instructional videos, podcasts, newsletters, life skills education, and more, TLSM is one of the largest single mom organizations in the U.S. The robust selection of single mom programs focus on empowering single moms to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially, and parentally through Single Mom University, Single Moms Across America, the National TLSM Single Moms Conference, boot camps, and a variety of other programs. For more information, visit www.thelifeofasinglemom.com.
