How to Renew Your Mind and Surrender to God
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Surrender to God
This week seems to have been one with many challenges. It feels that as we get older it’s harder to have that ‘Child-Like Faith’. We become burdened by work, bills, responsibilities, family and so much more. The more stress we endure it seems harder and harder to stay joyful. The good news is God knew we could not handle this life on our own. If you are tired and weary it’s because you are still carrying much of life’s burdens on your own. In this post, we will discuss things that may be hindering you from making that full surrender to God.
Fear of Feeling Out of Control
If you are always fighting to control everything, you are going to have a hard time truly surrendering to God for direction in all areas of your life. Most of us are uncomfortable with the feeling of being completely out of control. As much as we may want, or try, to control our life, we have to renew our minds and accept that we are not and never have been truly in control. The bible says we can make plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Release your fear of feeling out of control and fully give your life over to God to lift your heavy burden.
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Proverbs 16:9
Illusion of Control
As you see in Proverbs, we’re only fooling ourselves with the illusion of being in control. We may make plans, but the Lord determines our steps. If we would allow the Lord to determine all of our steps imagine how much more peace we would have within. No matter what plans we think we make, if it is not within God’s will, it’s not going to happen. Even if we are not yet able to trust those around us, we must learn to trust God and His will for our lives. Even things that are meant for our harm, He turns for our good! Surrendering to God comes with allowing Him to direct our steps.
God We Ask You Direct Our Steps
We should pray and trust in God to direct our steps. We should focus less on ourselves and our desires and seek His. With all the technology today, we have a calendar everywhere. Our phone wakes us up, it tells us the weather, it reminds us when to go to the grocery store. It seems we use our phones to plan our day more than we do God. When was the last time we grabbed the Bible and spoke with God to plan our day?
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
Do Not Fear
The bible states clearly that we do not need to have fear. We don’t need to be discouraged. He is with us! Even though we can’t see the ‘spiritual world’, doesn’t mean that we are ever alone. Once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and repented for our sins, from that day going forward, He is Always with us. Let go of fear. Don’t let anything hold you back from the joy and peace God offers when we surrender to him.
Be Transformed by the Word, Not the World
I feel as human beings with the hurts we experience and the people we lose throughout life, it is hard for us to believe that after all we have done, that someone could love and accept us the way Jesus does. When we as humans forgive someone it is like we still hang onto that hurt or that memory somewhere deep down. But when we accept Jesus we are new, we are clean! Jesus sees us as a new creation, that the old has fallen away. He doesn’t see us as we were. We should always strive to renew ourselves and be transformed by the Word and not by the world. If we continue to hold onto the old we’re not surrendering to the word of God that tells us we are forgiven.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2
Renew Your Mind
When we decide to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, we must then renew our minds. A big step in renewing our minds is knowing the word of God. How else can we live a life like He has called us to live if we don’t know how He wants us to live? Going to church and having fellowship is great, but your devotion to Jesus needs to be 7 days a week. You don’t have to be in church to experience the Holy Spirit. Renew your mind daily by meditating on the word of God and truly get to know Him.
Nourish Your Soul Daily
So many people only get the word of God on Sundays. We need to be meditating on the word daily! One day a week is dangerous grounds to walk on and leaving a huge door open to the enemy. And no matter how much you respect someone such as a pastor, a friend, or a leader always make sure to conduct your own research and check what they say and represent to what the Bible says. Nourish your soul daily to keep yourself renewed.
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We are Responsible for Our Souls
It is our responsibility to know the word well enough to be able to spot false prophets. There are so many ‘Hype’ churches and false prophets today that are leading millions astray. We are responsible for our own souls and our walk with God. Don’t entrust your eternity in the hands of man. God is the only one you should fully place your entire heart and soul in. There is only one way to the Father and that’s through Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. Make sure you are renewing yourself based on God’s word.
Be More Like Jesus
We should strive each day to be more like Jesus. When we think of making ourselves new, our goal is to be Christ-like. And to be more like Jesus, we have to learn more about Him. Even if others tell us about the bible, something entirely amazing happens when you experience it yourself. The Holy Spirit speaks to us all in different ways. Like Jesus, we should strive to be honest in all of our ways, be slow to anger, quick to listen, slow to speak, and forgiving just to name a few.
True Forgiveness
We allow fearful thoughts to creep into our minds making us untrustworthy. We carry past events with us in our subconscious even though we may feel like we have forgiven those who hurt us. We must work to learn how to forgive others in the way that Christ forgives us. We cannot expect to have true peace or renewal of our minds while holding onto unforgiveness in our hearts. If you still treat someone differently or see someone differently after they hurt you, you may need to continue praying for God to help you fully forgive that person and move forward.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Worry is of the Flesh
God is the only one in control. Renewal and surrendering to the perfect will of God is a process that we must work at. It is not an overnight event that we just know this and stop worrying. It’s always going to be a part of us to lean more toward giving into that worry, that is our flesh. In other posts, we have discussed how important it is to know the Word of God. To know the Scripture well enough to quote to ourselves and to defeat the enemy. The bible says if we resist the devil he must flee from us.
A good way to combat the negativity of worry is by replacing it with thoughts of what you are grateful for. You can check out my quick Grateful Heart Devotional here for some great pointers.
Watering Bad Seeds
Anything that we continue to do or allow to happen for a period of time can easily become a habit. Sometimes even without us realizing it. It can start with one thought that is like a seed and when we don’t cast that thought down we are giving it water. And with water, comes growth. Whether we realize it or not we are allowing these negative thoughts to prosper.
You can form a habit in as little as 18 days according to certain studies. So if even just for a few weeks you get in a rut, you can be setting up a stronghold in your mind of negative thoughts. The mind is so powerful, don’t let yourself keep you from experiencing the peace that comes with full surrender. Joyce Meyers has a great quote, “Where the mind goes, the man follows”. There is much truth in that.
“Where the mind goes, the man follows.”
Joyce Meyers
If you sit on the couch for two hours thinking about ice cream and how delicious it would taste, you are more than likely going to end up eating some ice cream. If you continue thinking depressing and negative thoughts, more than likely you will feel depressed and have a negative attitude and outlook. These repetitive thoughts that aren’t good for you can easily become strongholds. Renew your mind.
Make Sure Your Thoughts Appease God
Another way to renew your mind is working to recognize and separate your thoughts into categories. You have thoughts that appease God and thoughts that come from the enemy. When you catch that first thought that you know is of the enemy, don’t water it and don’t give it life. It’s much easier to prevent a stronghold than it is to break one. If you feel you already have a stronghold in your mind, pray for God to break that stronghold and to give you the ability to discern your thoughts. No matter what you need, you can always ask God.
God Generously Gives Wisdom to Those Who Ask
If you are in a situation and you don’t know what to do, turn to God first. God says He will give generously to those who ask for wisdom. We all could use more wisdom in every area of our lives. But remember, when you ask God for wisdom, it may not come in the way you expect. God will bless you with it in His way. His way may not be the most comfortable for us, but in the end, we will have grown in Him and in our faith by humbling ourselves before Him and surrendering to Him.
Give it All to Him
No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to withstand the burdens and stresses of life on our own. Pray for God to help you relinquish control and to be able to cast your cares on Him as He calls us to. I’m so thankful we have a God so amazing and so loving He says to give it all to him. Surrender yourself to God. Not just a little bit, not just some here and there, but all of it. I don’t know about you, but I do not know of anyone else who wants me to give them all my burdens. I thank God He loves us that much that he will take all of the heaviness from us if we just allow him to. Plant Matthew 11:28-30 deep within your heart so you can always bring it forward in your time of need.
Reflection.
What are some ways you keep your thoughts on things above? Do you have a strategy for keeping God first and recognizing attacks from the enemy? Did this help you to recognize areas in your life that may be contributing to your heavy burden
