Ephesians 4:23-24, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Just as they say “you are what you eat” the same can be said of the mind. You are what you think!

The thoughts a person thinks inwardly will eventually be portrayed on the outside. Think a thing long enough, and subconsciously, that thought will be uttered through the mouth. It’s human nature.

The more negative thoughts and emotions are allowed to dwell in the mind, they produce seeds that will take root. Once these roots are firmly planted, their sole purpose is to become a permanent part of the individual.

It for this reason we are admonished to be renewed in the spirit of our mind daily.

You cannot be a new man, if you have the same old mind.

A new mind brings a holy perspective.

By definition, perspective is a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

Once your mind has been renewed by the Holy Ghost, you are given the opportunity see things through the lenses given from the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

It all boils down to choices. Even with the mind of Christ, we have to still choose him – daily. Because every day we face situations that are designed to pull us away from God.

We have to continuously choose Jesus. Why? Because the enemy is constantly attacking us. And remember we are ONLY tempted by our own lusts (James 1:14). This means the enemy comes at us with stuff specific to us individually. Things that scratches the our own itch.

To combat this, we must flood our minds with the right stuff. We must think on things which glorify God. Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

It is a process. We must practice and train our minds to think as instructed in Philippians. But it can be done. Once we have that new perspective, we can handle any thing that comes our way.

So take some time to reflect on where your thoughts are. Are they propelling you toward victory? Or do the push you to toward defeat?

Do you take God at his word?

Do you believe the word?

Or do you fall for the lies of the enemy?

If you find yourself leaning toward defeat, now is the perfect time to make a change.

Sincerely repent in prayer and do better. It’s as simple as that. Then retrain your brain. Practice thinking on things that uplift and encourage. Speak life, not death. Stop filling your mind with junkie television and social media.

You will notice the change in your life and have a closer walk with God!

Have a blessed night and please share a comment.

Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

So this was a crazy week at work. New computer equipment, new technology, not a lot of training, and a very heavy case load. All of these factors (and a few more) combined to make a very frustrating work week.

The Bible says that time and chance happens to all of us. It is not realistic to believe that you will never find yourself in the midst of frustrating circumstances. After all, we are built to survive tough times, and to thrive in spite of them!

Contrary to popular belief – God does not always remove you from tough or difficult situation. He is, however, excellent at extending his grace as you face and deal with them. He promised not to put more on us than we can bear.

So if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, take heart. You are there because God knew you could handle it!

Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

So my solution…I stepped away from my office and took a walk outside. I began to sing. I sang old songs from church and I just talked to the Lord.

By the time I made it back to my office, I felt so much better. This taught me an important lesson – not to let the frustrations of life penetrate inward.

As followers of Christ, we should be able to be in an adverse situation without allowing the negativity of it to penetrate who we are. We are instructed to be in the world, but not of this world (1 John 2:15-17).

When you begin to feel overwhelmed – take a break (even if you can only take a bathroom break), step away from the situation. Take a deep breath, and remember who you are and whose you are. Focus your mind on the Lord and give him praise. Praise until you feel free. Then give the situation to God.

Yes, you will head back and face the situation. But you are now spiritually refreshed. Your are now strengthened, and able to handle anything. You have not allowed the negativity to impact who you are.

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

It is important not to take adverse or negative situations personal. This can be hard, I know. But by keeping that distance you allow the peace of God to do it’s work.

You will be able to function, and do what needs to be done – effectively.

The peace of God, will surround and insulate you.

Frustration successfully dealt with. And the bonus is that God received the glory through it all.

I hope this helps you as it helped me.

Have a blessed night!

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

1 John 5:14-15. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

By definition expectation is a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

To “stand in expectation” is to know that whatever I have spoken (by faith), or whatever I am believing God for is coming my way. Faith puts me in the very path of that thing so that it overtakes me as God brings it to pass.

Health and healing, finances, strength and encouragement, etc. Our needs are endless.

But when we “stand in expectation” we are of the spiritual position of: for with God all things are possible. So we ask God in faith, and we literally live our life on alert. As we walk, we are looking around, because God’s blessings can approach us from any direction. God is that good!

As 1 John tells us – it is a confidence that we have. Not self confidence – because it is not about us. Rather it is confidence in God.

No matter how bad or how dire our situation, we cannot allow ourselves to forget the God that we serve. He has a proven track record! He is a proven miracle worker!

It is from this vantage point where our confidence emerges, takes deep root in our hearts, and grows so large and strong that it shelters us from the storms of life. This confidence allows us to boldly approach God and ask him for any and everything we need!

Now here is my favorite part… God recognizes this same confidence we have in him. He sees our faith, and he responds.

When we take the time to get to know God better – through studying his word, through spending time in his presence. We build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 1:20). Our confidence in God is heightened, our faith is increased, and we ask God for what some would say is the impossible!

This is what God wants from us! Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened (Matthew 7:7). These are instructions direct from God. With the added caution: do not ask amiss to consume in on your lusts (James 4:3).

When we ask according to his will, God will withhold no good thing from us.

As stated earlier- God recognizes your confidence in him and responds. He considers us! We are in his thoughts. With plans to give us an expected end.

So the question is this – what are you expecting?

I know you have prayed.

I know you have many things you need from God.

I know there are many things you need God to do.

But the question remains – are you truly confident in God to do what he says? Has this confidence in God caused you to come to him boldly (and in faith) to ask him?

If the answers to these questions is “yes” then are you standing in expectation? Are you looking for the manifestation – like really expecting it to come from anywhere?

God is there to give you that expected end. But you have to be there to receive it.

Let your faith put you in the path of your blessings. This is that expected end.

You must know what it is, and allow your faith (trust in God) to place you where it is!

You must know what you are looking for. Then stand in expectation.

Let God take care of the rest!

Have a blessed day!

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