Transform Your Life: How Your Thoughts on God Shape Your Reality”

What you think and say of God will determine how you relate to Him, what you would do for Him, and what you can receive from Him. Your entire life is shaped by your thoughts on God. So it behooves you to fix those thoughts and words. Shape them, fashion them, conform them to truth. Let the word of God shape your perspective of God, not your experiences, disappointments, or even your joys and victories. The Holy Spirit takes us into all truth, takes the things of God and reveals them to us, and when we desire it, we experience it. So shape your thoughts of God, shape your life

Your ISB – intimacy, service (sacrifice), and blessing are all a function of your perspective of God. It matters that it not be the fruit of happenstance, but a determined, conscious effort to align our minds with truth so that all the God of truth desires to be to us, do in us, and for us will meet with the utmost cooperation. Being part of a faith community can help individuals maintain a right perspective of God, as fellow believers can encourage, support, and hold each other accountable in their spiritual growth.

A quick example. The psalmist says,

I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. KJ21

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah In the land of the living. ASV

I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. AMP

What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! AMPC

Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the Lord’s favor in the land of the living? NET

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. NIV

Interestingly, some translations affirm the assurance of seeing His goodness, while others weigh more towards a consciousness of how believing had spared them from potential destruction and a negative outcome. Both are significant. This passage implies

1. 1. God is good.
2. 2. God will show his goodness to the living.
3. 3. It is possible to not experience this goodness even though it is real
4. 4. Believing was and remains critical to the psalmist experiencing that goodness. And in some translations, if he had not believed, he would not have experienced it.

All affirm this one thing: experiencing the goodness of God was not passive, but required the psalmist to think, believe, and act rightly in relation to God. In fact, his lot would have been one of despair and fainting. However, by choosing faith, he secured the goodness of God. We will have to do this throughout our lives, as a way of being and as a way of responding in specific situations. Align your mind with truth, unlock God’s blessings.

Right expectation

What did he believe? That God was good, and would do him good here on earth and not only when he got to heaven. Those thoughts of God were essential for him to believe he would see and experience the goodness of God, whether it is in the past or a past and present faith for a future outcome. That faith sustained him. It may have also affected the decisions and choices he made, which paved the way to experiencing God’s goodness.

Active cooperation

Thinking truthful thoughts about God leads us to active cooperation with and obedience to Him, which inevitably leads to the bountiful blessings of rest, peace, joy, intimacy, and deliverance. When Jesus taught us to pray to God as our Father, He was bringing us to the place where we would think of Him as Father, which implies goodness, kindness, love, provision, help, succor, mercy, compassion, power, strength, and every good. With that right mindset, we relate to Him as Father, cooperate with His work in the kingdom, and receive His provision in our lives. So, think truthfully, cooperate with God, receive abundantly.”

It is a great error to think that God goes around indiscriminately fixing people and their circumstances irrespective of whether anyone believes, thinks rightly of Him, and obeys Him. There is a general grace of God in providence and nature available for all creatures irrespective of their thoughts of Him. It is possible that when people themselves are not actively obeying or serving, they sometimes experience grace that is the result of another person’s faith and requests for divine intervention on their behalf.

Real transformation

But as believers, we must settle on the fact that polluted thoughts about God are a recipe for polluted living. A mindset that entertains notions of divine insufficiency will lead to a life of weakness and inadequacy. The greater and bolder your thoughts are of God, the more conscious you are of His might, the more audacious and extraordinary your life will be. You live out your consciousness of Him and make choices based on your confidence in the One backing you up. Bold thoughts, audacious life.

Sacrifice is a word that frightens many. But the one who thinks rightly of God sees His worth and yields willingly. He sees the utmost privilege of being a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord rather than reveling in carnal pleasure. It’s a no-brainer.

Prayer: A privilege, not a burden.

Prayer is a burden only to those who do not think rightly about God; otherwise, the wonderful opportunity that prayer is, to communicate with such a great King, would be immediately obvious and continually desirable. Our thoughts affect how we relate to Him. Aligning one’s thoughts with God’s truth is a continuous journey; not a one-time event. And it requires continual application and growth through regular engagement with Scripture, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines. Bear in mind that it is not solely through human effort but also through God’s grace that transformation occurs, enabling believers to think rightly about Him and empowering them to live out their faith.

For too many, it’s about doctrinal warfare and scoring points. No, it’s about life, intimacy, service, living lives that correspond to His will, and fulfilling our purpose.