Don't subscribe to every voice in your head.
Following Jesus is a journey of changing your mind and changing your ways. When Jesus broke onto the scene, His message was “repent for the kingdom of God is here.” That word repent in the original language means to change your mind, before mindset coaching and before the power of positive thinking, we had Jesus with His message of repent, calling men to change their mind and change their thinking. When you change your thinking;
You will change what you say
You will change what you do
You will change your life
Do you know that the average person has what we call self-talk going on at all times? If we look at what self-talk is, it's those inner thoughts that are going through your head all day long, day in and day out. According to the national science foundation, "the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. And of those thoughts, 80% are negative and 95% are exactly the same repetitive thoughts over and over day after day."
What we tell ourselves on an ongoing basis reflects not only the way we think, but how we feel and act, in other words, our thoughts create our reality. The latest and breaking science in this field is showing us the importance of our thoughts, how they affect our emotions, how they can actually affect hormone release, states of being, our feelings, our emotional states, and there's actually new data of how long those states can last based on a thought we actually think, our thoughts affect everything we do.
And as the science evolves, it proves that the Bible is true and that the words of Jesus ring louder today, What Paul said to the Romans 12:2 is very, very powerful, considering all of the data in the field of neuroscience. Paul writes,
“do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is. That which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NASB
Let’s look at the same verse in The Passion Translation.
“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the power of the holy spirit, through a total reformation of how you think this will empower you to discern God's will, as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” Romans 12:2 TPT
Here's another way of what the apostle Paul is writing: your internal world shapes your external reality. What you believe internally will become true in the external. Jesus also makes this connection between your inner life and your outer life between your inner thought life and your external reality in Luke 6:45 Jesus says:
“the good man brings forth that, which is good from the good treasury of the heart. And the wicked man brings forth that, which is wicked from the wicked for his mouth speaks out of what overflows from his heart.”
Jesus is saying, what is in your heart will come out of your mouth. So let's just stop and take a quick inventory. What do we talk about the most? I love to listen to people talk because when I do, I can find out where their heart is.
What is that issue? What is that cause, what is that topic that's so important to them and what is it for you? Because that thing that you're speaking about the most, that thing that you're investing the most energy in and that you're burning the most calories on, that is what is in your heart, Jesus said you will speak with an overflow of what's already in your heart. Jesus is saying that whatever is in your heart is what is going to shape your thoughts. What shapes your thoughts is, what's going to come out of your mouth.
So whats that thing that is in your heart, that thing you're thinking about, that is the thing you will be talking about and we see from the verse above that it can be good, or it could be wicked.
What is in your heart?
I want to share a personal story right now. I've been hosting the Raising The Standard podcast for the last 10 weeks at the time this blog is being written and it's been doing really well. I want to thank you if you're listening, the show has done incredible in a short time period, we’ve reached 17 nations as of right now and by all external measures, this is something to be encouraged by. However, I want to tell you, there have been days where I struggle a little bit with what exactly am I doing? It takes a lot of courage and a lot of boldness to put yourself out into the public domain.
I wrote The Standard in 2020, and I did not launch it right away. I sat on that book for a little bit, I didn't put it out into the public domain right away. There were a few reasons for that, I was really being prayerful around what's the best time to release it, my goal was to honor the Lord. I wasn't seeking to build a brand or a name and it’s not about the self-promotional game for me. I really wanted to give this book to the right people at the right time as the Lord was ordering and directing my steps.
I launched the Raising The Standard podcast in 2021. And there's days where I ask myself “what am I doing?” Whenever you take a step into the unknown, I don't know every day exactly what the plan will be. Sometimes I can only see the next step, when God says He orders your steps, He gives you a lamp. He says, “I am a lamp unto your feet” to David, He's not a spotlight for the next 10 steps. So, sometimes we cannot see what's going to happen next or what he next move will be, but we have to be faithful and committed to what's in our hand today and with the direction that we've been given.
A few weeks ago, I found myself tossing and turning in the middle of the night and struggling with what's the next episode going to be, asking myself “what am I doing? Is this the right thing to do” Suddenly, the Lord broke in and He directed me to Jeremiah chapter 1.
Jeremiah 1:5 is a famous verse. You've probably heard it before where The Lord says “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”. That's a powerful scripture that applies to all of us, that He knew us before the foundations of the world, and He puts a call on Jeremiah's life. Then The Lord appears, and calls Jeremiah to be a prophet in verse 5 and 6. Jeremiah responds by saying,
“Lord, I don't know how to speak.”
God is showing up literally in front of Jeremiah, speaking to him as clear as day and Jeremiah's response to God is, I don't know how to speak. I want you to pay attention to the next verse here. Jeremiah responds to the Lord and says, I don't know how to speak. He's literally talking to God and God just called him and he's saying, I don't know how to speak, I'm only a youth! Watch what God says in verse 7.
But the Lord said to me, do not say I am a youth because everywhere I send you, you shall go. And all that I command you. You shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for, I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.
Do you see what happens there? God corrects his language. God says to Jeremiah, do not say that. Do not say I am a youth.
He had to correct his language so He could correct his thoughts and his language patterns, so Jeremiah could step into the mission, the calling and the assignment that was on his life, because he cannot fulfill what he's called to do If he speaking the wrong words. This is the same for us. The key issue here is your thought life affects what you speak.
Does God have to correct your language?
He had to correct my language. Your language reflects your mindset, your mindset reveals what you're carrying in your heart.
Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So, what's in your heart?
- What is in your heart will form your thoughts.
- What's in your thoughts, forms your mindset.
- What's in your mindset will affect what you speak.
Change your ways, change your actions and change your life.
