And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
—Romans 12:2

If you think that having your heart right with God is the only important thing, think again. God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). I believe it is possible for us to have a right heart for God and yet to have things all wrong in our heads. And with a wrong head, we may very well live in complete defeat and lose ground in the kingdom of God. This has nothing to do with our hearts or with our worship. Our lives can be destroyed because of ignorance. Without a knowledge of the truth, we cannot be free (John 8:32).

Most of the battles Christians face are in the mind. You are bombarded with thoughts every day that can lead you astray and produce destruction in your life. Your thoughts and emotions injected with wrong motives, bitterness, evil intentions, or negative patterns will cause tumult in your mind. Too many of us allow our imaginations to lead us into fantasies and daydreams that are contrary to God's purpose and plan for us.

God's Word says that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. The Holy Spirit is the foreman of the construction site, and the Word of God is the tool that is used for the process. Whatever is not built on the Word of God will not last; it will not produce the promises God has guaranteed in His Word. I must rid myself of old ways of thinking and build new thought processes based on the Word of God.

The apostle Paul said, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). To set your affection on things above means not only to seek heaven but also to think heaven. You are to place your thought life, emotions, and will toward God. It involves the ability to see things of this world in the light of eternity.

The mind needs to be renewed daily by the Word of God. Meditate on key scriptures. Rehearsing the goodness of God and applying the blood of Christ over your memories is vital for spiritual survival. If you are going to live your life according to the thoughts of God, you will have to not only know His Word, but also obey it. We must be "doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22). We live the thoughts of God by incorporating them into the actions of our everyday life. Keep obeying the Word, and you will eventually arrive at your goal.

Related Texts: Psalm 1:1–2; Proverbs 16:3; 23:7; Isaiah 55:8–9; Ephesians 4:23; Philippians 2:5; 4:8; Hebrews 4:12