Lining Up Our Thoughts With God's Word

(Below are Nicole's thoughts on Chapter 7 of Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter as well. Feel free to leave a comment, question and/or scripture in the comment section following the post. Let's dig deep and join together to fight this battle.)

Do not conform 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

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Phillipians 4:8

"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued "with the measure you use, it will be measured to you-even more." Mark 4:24

The following are the points that Joyce Meyer made in Chapter 7 that had the most impact on me....

- The Word of God teaches us what we should spend our time thinking about. (p. 63)
- It is very beneficial to think about God's Word. The more time a person spends meditating on the Word, the more he will reap from the Word. (p. 63)
- ....we will get from the Word what we put into it. (p. 63)
- The flesh is basically lazy, and many people want to get something for nothing (with no effort on their part); however, that really is not the way it works. I will say it again, a person will get out of the Word what he is willing to put into it. (p. 64)
- How much time do you spend thinking about the Word of God? If you are having problems in any area of your life, an honest answer to this question may disclose the reason why. (p 65)
- Your mind plays an important role in your victory. (p. 67)
- By this process of new thinking we will be changed or transformed into what God intends us to be. (p. 67)

This next point just really hit home for me. It has changed me dramatically. I'm excited for the doors it's going to open for me.

- Many people will be in heaven because they truly accepted Jesus as their Savior, but many of these same people will never have walked in victory or enjoyed the good plan God had for their lives because they did not get their mind renewed according to His Word. (p. 68)

Think about how much time we truly spend in His Word. Studying it. Memorizing it. Truly knowing Him. I can honestly tell I do not spend any where near the amount of time that I need to right now. I sit hear and wonder why God hasn't answered me or shown me what I should do next for my son. Well, He's right there waiting patiently for me to dive into His Word. Truly knowing His Word is going to change my thinking. There won't be room for confusion, worry or doubt when I'm constantly learning about His love, giving and hope. However, for me to truly change my thinking, I need to get out all of the clutter. I need to shut of the television and study my Bible. I need to turn off my Black Eyed Peas music and turn on some Toby Mac, Mercy Me or Creed. It's all about what we put into our minds as to what thoughts are then produced. If we have nothing but good going in, our positive thinking will come out on top. I'm not saying that we should only watch Christian shows and listen to Christian music. I love some of today's new music. However, I think it's important that in today's negative society we pour alot more of the "positives" in our minds. Doing all of this will help keep us on track to lining up our thoughts with what God has written in his Word.

You see, God can't do the work He needs to do in our lives if we don't know Him. The best way to know God is through His Word. The more we know His Word, the more we can't help but be positive thinkers and look forward to everything in life. And the easier His Will can be done in our lives and in this world. By lining up our thoughts with God's Word, we will then have a much easier time figuring out which thoughts are from Satan, which are just pure nonsense and which thoughts are the good ones. Look at page 69 in Chapter 7. Joyce writes "Thinking about what you're thinking about is very valuable because Satan usually deceives people into thinking that the source of their misery or trouble is something other than what it really is. He wants them to think they are unhappy due to what is going on around them (their circumstances), but the misery is actually due to what is going on inside them (their thoughts.)" Truly knowing and "getting" God's Word makes this process so much easier.

So, I ask you, like Joyce did...what do you spend a majority of your time thinking about? Instead of thinking so much, pick up His Word and see what He can bring to the table. I'll bet you anything it'll help you be more aware of your thoughts and how to make them better.