I heard a great message at church last Sunday, proclaiming the finished work of God in our lives. One of the points made was that we are equipped for success, more specifically, that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. This is a past tense, finished work of God in each of us. By design, we are fully equipped for life. As a mental health professional, I talk to many people who say they don’t feel equipped on an emotional level. What is it that hinders us from feeling equipped for success? What hinders some of us from experiencing successful living on a meaningful level?
I think we need to recognize that even though by God’s design we have been given what we need to meet life, we have also been given life experience in this culture. We learn about ourselves, others, God and the world through our life experience, and some of what we learn does not fit with God’s design. Some of what we learn is lies, and skewed or false thinking. What we believe about God and his design, how we see ourselves, and what we think alters the neurological structure of our brain.
Part of what we have been equipped with is the ability to hear truth that differs from our life experience, reason through it, discriminate its truth, apply it, and then through a process, build our belief in it. It is the truth that can set us free from the emotional experience of feeling ill-equipped. The process is transformation by renewing our mind.
Stay tuned for my next blog on Becoming Transformed by Renewing the Mind!
