How Can I Make My Life Better?
“Be made new in the attitude of your minds”
Ephesians 4:23
I used to have a very poor attitude, our attitudes come from our thoughts, and my thoughts were focused on the wrong things. I blamed everyone for my problems, I held grudges, and I didn’t know how to establish healthy boundaries. To make matters worse, I constantly talked about my problems, grudges, and those who continually disrespected my boundaries.
Why was this? Why couldn’t I make my life get better? It took me a while to finally grasp what the real issue was…it was my mindset. Although I had been saved since I was a boy, I hadn’t yet allowed God to begin renewing my mind! The good news is, once we let this process commence, life gets so much better even when it gets worse. How is this possible? Because our mindsets are mature–mature in who we are!
God has a great plan for each and every one of us, He doesn’t have favorites. I didn’t know that. Because of mixing Old Covenant teaching in with the New Covenant, I thought I had to be a “good Christian” before my life would get better. The truth was, all I had to do was get to know Jesus more closely and be myself as His coheir. By doing this, I began to understand my own identity much better, in turn, I started to live authentically as a child of God.
Christian, your life will greatly improve when you realize who you are inside! Until then we are miserable, no matter what vice or habit we choose to soothe our soul. Here are some key guidelines which really helped me along the path of my mind renewal, I believe they will help you too:
- Read about Jesus. I can remember as a kid, picking up a big, leather Bible, then holding the pages against my thumb as I fanned through it from front to back. I specifically remember thinking to myself, “Wow. That’s a lot to read and know.” Unbeknownst to me at the time, the enemy was already placing doubt and discouragement in my mind. What I came to find out was that my life-change would happen by simply taking little bites of God’s Word, day by day. As I did this, I began to understand the personality of Christ as well as my own spiritual nature. Reading is very important. It exercises your brain and reshapes your mind. Don’t feel intimidated or pressured, just read something each day. The Holy Spirit will do the rest!
- Pray for those who cause you harm, genuinely. This is like eating glass at first because our mindsets aren’t used to doing such a thing. However, God’s Spirit has taught me that as soon as I feel resentment toward someone, that’s a red flag to pray for them. “God, please help them come to know you deeply. Show them your grace.” This frees me from bitterness and keeps my mind focused on the proper things. It also opens up new doors of opportunities for my wrong-doers to come to Christ, or to remember who they are if they’re already Christians.
- Don’t get upset while trying to figure out all the religious stuff. The bottom line of the gospel is this: you are okay. Simple, right? Because of your faith in Jesus, you are okay with God. As you stand on this truth, sure, His Spirit will take you deeper into more biblical information. But right now, today, you are okay. You are God’s child and a master’s degree of religious knowledge won’t make you any more or any less of His child. So enjoy your heritage and be easy on yourself when it comes to being an encyclopedia of Christianity. You don’t need to be. You know all you need to know right now, this second, today. The Holy Spirit will lead you into what you need to know next, over time.
- Pray. If these steps were in order, this would probably be number one. It’s vital for your mind renewal that you get into the habit of continual “chatter prayers” all day long. Your prayers should eventually be something that you don’t really even notice–like breathing. Little one-liners or a few sentences here and there, you know, like you talk to people? Talk to God the same! Prayer is just talking. You don’t have to throw in the “thees” and “thous”–you don’t live in the 1600s–just speak like you always do! Just talk! Talking builds up any relationship. God hears you at all times, He even knows your thoughts–the unspoken prayers in your soul. So just talk to Dad because He loves you, this will take you deeper into your relationship with Him!
A prayer for you: Heavenly Father, today I want to thank you for changing my entire life for the better. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth it! Thank you for renewing my mind and for teaching me who I truly am! Right now, I lift up all who are reading this, directly to you. For those who have been struggling to make their life better, ease their minds today. If they are believers, reveal who they are and then empower them to begin living out their true identity! If they are not believers and want to be, let them know that the best life-change only happens when we get a new life–Jesus’ life! If they want this, all they have to do is believe! We love you so much. Amen.
This devotional is from 60 Days for Jesus, Volume 2. Get your copy here!