Break the Grip of Wrong Thinking

Living in the midst of so much divisiveness and upheaval in our society, experiencing waves of change with profound effects on our lives that we have little or no control over, you may be struggling with fears and worries, negative thoughts and attitudes, in a way like never before. What you may not realize is that beyond what you see around you, there’s a battle going on every day to control your mind. The enemy is working to build strongholds of wrong thinking in your mind. He knows that if he can keep you thinking in negative ways, it will keep you from the new things God wants to do in your life.  

So how do we fight this battle? The apostle Paul says, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We can’t let this world’s culture squeeze us into its mold with its wrong types of thinking. When you renew your mind with God’s Word, you transform your life. 

If you’ve given your life to Jesus, you’re a brand-new creation, and your spirit has been made new. The problem is that we still have old habits, addictions, and strongholds in our thinking that are contrary to what God wants us to think. Our mind needs to catch up with what’s going on in our spirit, which can only happen when we stop conforming to our old thinking. When you read the Word of God and put yourself under its teaching, you dislodge strongholds in your mind. You break the grip that wrong thoughts have over you.  

Fortunately, we have the Word of God at our fingertips—printed Bibles, Bible websites and apps, Christian music, podcasts, radio, and TV. We choose what we read, listen to, and watch, and when you put yourself under the Word of God, the strongholds that are trying to hold you back will be broken. Paul says, “To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask, think, or imagine.” I love that. God can do anything, but read the second part: “According to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). God is saying that when you align your mind with the power of God that’s in you, your mind will be transformed.  

You’re in a battle, and it’s time to stand up and declare, “I’m not going to be held down by old ways and negative patterns of thinking. I’m going to live in the Word every day.” When you’re fighting wrong thought patterns, meditate on the Word of God and let it bathe and transform your mind as it renews you. It will detox all those old ways and bring you into the new ways of God.