Have you ever felt like you’re just stuck in a rut?
You feel like you’re spinning your wheels but getting nowhere. You feel like you’re stuck in what the world wants of you, but you’re not comfortable staying in it.
As followers of Jesus, we have to think critically about what is good for us.
Our God designed us with the ability to think. Foremost, he desires that we know him and discover that he is worthy to be worshiped, loved, honored, and served. “Know that the LORD, he is God! He made us and we are his” (Psalm 100:3a ESV).
There are many layers of knowing God. We need to learn who he is, what he has done, who we are in him, and how we are to live according to who he is. This takes thinking critically. As we live in this world, we need to discern what is true, what is best, and what is necessary according to the God who reigns supreme. Because he loves us, he provides us with ways to do this: studying his written Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), praying for insight from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), and learning from those more mature in the faith (Colossians 3:16).
Our God not only created us to think, but it is he who gives us knowledge. Proverbs 2:5-6 tells us, “… understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (NIV). To his followers, Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24 NIV). During the storms of life, God’s truths give us a firm foundation.
Our God is not only the giver of knowledge, but he designed us with brains able to adapt. With neuron connections that can reorganize and rewire, our minds renew as we learn new information, create new habits, and have new experiences. As the apostle Paul exhorts: “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 most direct way to renew our mind is to study and memorize scriptures. As we meditate on God’s truths and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, godly fruit will ripen as we abide in Christ (John 15:4).
Some of us learn best by hearing and doing, others with reading and writing, and many through combinations of methods. All of these learning styles are used weekly in the Heart Training books to help you hide God’s Word in your heart as you set your mind on him.
So, get out of the ruts of this world and be renewed as you live in God’s ways!
Focus your mind on God’s truths each day as you work through a Heart Training book.