Day 15: The Spirit Renews Your Mind

From 2 Timothy 1:7 we have seen that God wants us to have sound judgment or a sound mind through His Holy Spirit. But what does it mean?

First of all, the greatest realist on earth today is the Holy Spirit. He’s never sentimental, He’s never impressed by the external, He always sees right to the heart of every situation, every person, every problem and He tells us the exact truth about it. If you want anybody to tell you like it is, you want the Holy Spirit because He never sentimentalizes, He never exaggerates, He never pushes, He just tells it like it is.

But it’s up to you to respond and this is only by the Holy Spirit. Paul says in Romans 12:2:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Our minds have to be transformed, they have to be renewed in order that we can have this kind of judgment and the renewing agent is the Holy Spirit. In very similar language in Ephesians 4:23 Paul says this:

“…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind…”

Notice it’s the Spirit that must renew the mind. It’s not psychology, it’s not education, it’s the supernatural operation of the Spirit of God that renews our minds. You see, God renews us from within, religion renews from without, it’s preoccupied with externals. But God renews us from within. He renews our minds, the way we think. And when we think differently we live differently. Our part is yielding to the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives.

Reflect: When I think differently, I live differently. In what area of my live do I need to yield my thinking to the Holy Spirit?