How Renewing Your Mind Will Transform Your Life

It is the way to living in a whole new kind of freedom

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” — Romans 12:2, NLT

Years ago, when I first became a Christian, I found myself in a lot of awkward situations. My life changed quite a bit in the first few years of my new faith. There were many times when I would be around old friends but realize their influence was counter to the things God had called me into.

It wasn’t just about following random rules that I read in the Bible either. I started to notice that I would have these knee-jerk reactions to things I used to think were normal. On several occasions, I felt I needed to leave, but couldn’t exactly tell anyone why.

Years later now, I realize that my way of thinking was being changed by my new faith. I was being transformed by God by what the Bible calls “renewing my mind.”

As I continued to pray, study the Bible, and be part of the Christian community through church, God was rewiring my mind for things of his Kingdom and not of this world. My old habits and behaviors were no longer the things I was drawn to in life.

This became so true in my life that I only worked in my field of study for two years out of college before changing my career altogether. Since then, so many things have changed.

Let’s dive deeper into what it means by renewing our minds so we can better understand how this helps us experience a transforming faith.

Behaviors and Customs of this World

Throughout history, God has called Christians to live differently than the world around them. Some take this to extremes, while others refuse to do it at all. Yet, I believe that there is of great importance to acknowledge when the behaviors and customers of this world do not align with our faith.

Another way this verse has been translated says it this way:

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, NIV

The pattern of this world, the behaviors, and customs of this world, what does this mean for us as Christians? Often enough, we find ourselves in situations that force us to make a choice:

• Do what everyone else is doing.
• Or, do something different.

This is the first way we can give ourselves the opportunity to renew our minds. We can go with the flow of our culture, even if it doesn’t line up with our beliefs. Or we can decide to do something different.

Now, this isn’t simply morality. It’s not about being right or wrong. Many Christians miss the point of these situations in our lives. They believe they have to be right and the other side is wrong.

It is about whether they are going to follow what God has called them into or not. It’s all about what we choose, not what other people choose. We do not renew our minds by judging other people, but we can by obeying the things God has called us into.

Here are some practical ways you can do this:

1. Ask God to reveal ways He wants you to live. Then, as you pray and read your Bible, I believe he will reveal these things to you. Write them down, evaluate your life and how you have lived this out in the past. Then, decide to live differently moving forward.
2. When you come across something that you cannot stand in our culture today, ask yourself why? Ask God if He has a specific revelation for you in these situations. I believe that a ‘gut feeling’ can sometimes be the Holy Spirit convicting us about how we join in with certain behaviors.
3. Begin making the choice to step out of certain behaviors and customers of our world today. It is going to be awkward sometimes if it is something you have always been doing. It might also make you feel a bit like the black sheep. However, people will respect you if you make a decision and stick with it.

When we start experiencing new understanding in our life when it comes to the behaviors and customs of our world it allows us to make new decisions. As we make those new decisions, we begin to unlock other places where we can renew our minds.

God Transforms You

Renewing our minds isn't simply about doing things though. Sometimes, it is simply God transforming our thinking so that we can be a new person. As we make different decisions and continue to focus on what God wants us to think about, we see a transformation over time.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. — Romans 12:2, ESV

What is interesting to me about this verse in this particular translation makes our transformation and action by telling us to be transformed. It's like it is telling us to do something. Well, we learned about what we can do in the first part of the verse, but I was thinking more about my story in this part.

Over time, as we read our Bibles, pray, and engage in Christian fellowship something starts to happen in us. The Holy Spirit begins to change us. We no longer think about things the same way. After all, when we believe in Jesus, he enters every part of our lives.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives by taking in things of God’s Kingdom, we begin to experience life change without doing anything at all. In fact, it is in this transformation of our lives we start to experience a new and vibrant faith.

Here are the practical aspects to making this possible:

1. Prayer. This is a spiritual discipline that will open you up to God’s Kingdom and a new faith like nothing else. Now, these aren’t cookie-cutter prayers. These are honest prayers full of conversations with Jesus. When you start laying it all out there and listen for Jesus to answer, it will transform you.
2. Reading your Bible. I have shared this before, but the amount of power that comes from reading the Bible is unbelievable. Especially, when you do so after laying everything out there for Jesus to see. Then, you will be led to specific verses that will help transform your life.
3. Christian Fellowship. While I don’t think we need to go to mega-churches, I do know that we need to be in a Christian community. We need to be part of a house church, bible study, or a friend group of Christians. This is where we learn from each other and strengthen our faith.

Now, there are other spiritual disciplines that help us to be transformed in our lives and our faith, but these are the three easiest places to start. Many people experience transformation just in these areas that lead to amazing new things.

Know God’s Will

So many Christians wander around in the dark asking, “what is God’s will for my life?” Yet, I believe he has told many of them, but they haven’t understood because they aren’t renewing their mind.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. — Romans 12:2, ESV

By testing, you may discern what is the will of God, this is an important reminder when it comes to renewing our minds. If we are not renewing our minds by taking practical steps, we will not be able to discern or understand the will of God.

While I don’t know if we can know every part of God’s will, I do believe he reveals his will to us more often than not. But, as Christians, it is easy to struggle with trying to understand. However, it doesn’t have to be a struggle.

In fact, when start making decisions that line up with God’s Kingdom, and we do the things we know will help allow God to transform us, we will begin to discern God’s will for our lives.

Here are a few practical steps to discerning God’s will:

1. When you need God’s will for your life, ask God to reveal Bible verses that would help you make the decision you need to make. More often than not, he will provide some clarity from reading and studying the Bible.
2. Simply ask God to reveal his will for you. Then, sit and wait on the Lord to respond. Sometimes, the answer has been right in front of us, but we haven’t stopped to listen to God. Yet, when we do listen, he will make his will clear to us.
3. Consider the testimonies of times when God has revealed his will to you or others. There is power in the word of testimony or stories of times God has been faithful. When we consider the stories of other times when God revealed his will to us or humanity as a whole, we can start to see his will more clearly in any situation.

Sometimes, I believe God does not reveal his will for specific areas of our lives until just the right time. That time might be days, weeks, months, or even years. Yet, this is the case for every situation. I believe that God wants us to know his will on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts: A Transformed Faith and A Transformed Life

I look back at my life over the last 15 years and see how much has changed. There was a lot of foundational change initially. Then, over the years, there have been greater changes that have separated me from the culture a little more than ever before.

Not in a crazy, underground bunker sort of way, but in ways that show evidence of change in my life. Yes, we change as life goes on, even if we aren’t renewing our minds. But these changes in my life have done something amazing.

The more and more I renew my mind, the greater the transformation of my faith and life, which leads to greater blessings.

There have been plenty of things where I could have gone with the flow and accepted what our culture and society says is normal, but that would have been counter to what God calls me to in life. And, I wouldn’t have gotten to see the beauty that I see every day.

What are ways that you renew your mind? How has God changed you over time? Share in the responses below.

Not sure where to start when it comes to reading the Bible and renewing your mind? Try out my prayer and meditation guides: Download these free prayer and mediation guides today!