Imagine walking into a new home, excited to make it your own, only to be greeted by walls painted in glaring colors that clash with your personality and taste in décor. You know immediately that this won’t do. The first order of business is clear: those walls need a fresh coat of paint. They need a change that reflects your personality and makes the space feel like home.
In the same way, our minds can become cluttered with thoughts and attitudes that don’t reflect who we are in Christ. Over time, these mental “wall colors” can dull our spiritual lives, leaving us feeling disconnected and disheartened. The good news? Just as a fresh coat of paint can transform a room, renewing our minds can transform our lives.
In Christian circles, we often hear the phrase “renew your mind,” but how often do we pause to consider what that really means? When I created Biblical Journaling for Anxiety, Romans 12:2 was the guiding verse: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” But it wasn’t until someone asked me, “What does that actually mean?” that I truly began to unpack the significance of this powerful command.
We sometimes use words and phrases in our Christian circles so frequently that, through repetition, they seem to lose their meaning. When I first launched JK Creations, LLC, it was based on Romans 12:2. Yet, it wasn’t until almost a year later, when someone asked me to explain those words, that I began to think deeply about what it means to renew the mind.
In the gospel of John, Jesus explained, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV) We can probably agree that if we look around us, we see more stealing, killing, and destroying than abundant living. Of course, These words are metaphorical for what I observe. I see a stealing of our hope, the killing of our joy, and the destroying of the faith and fellowship that are such sweet gifts from God.
I see more and more how minds, even of believers, are filled with worry, fear, anger, disgust, and a host of other thoughts and emotions that are not God-honoring. These are the patterns of the world. So, if we are to live transformed lives by renewing our minds, shouldn’t we understand what that truly means?
When I explored the word “renew,” I found multiple definitions in scripture:
*To give a new appearance, to refresh (Psalm 104:30)
*To establish more firmly a kingdom (1 Sam. 11:14)
*To rebuild or repair what is broken (2 Chronicles 15:8)
*Restoring spiritual strength (Ps. 103:5)
*Spiritual renewal (Roman. 12:2, Eph. 4:23, Col. 3:10)
The first definition above, “to refresh,” made me think about repainting the walls of a room. One of my favorite ways to give my home a facelift is to apply a fresh coat of paint! My husband and I have lived in our home for almost 20 years now, and I have gained plenty of practice and experience in the art of refreshing a room with a new paint job! There is only one room in our home I have repainted less than once, and it’s next on my list! (I’m so excited!) My husband and I have lived in the same home for almost 20 years. So, I get a thrill from brightening the walls with a new coat of paint! It’s like splashing cool water onto a tired face. Ahhh! Refreshing!
In a house where I am the only female, the walls have taken a beating, and if they were not tended to, this house would be in sad shape. From time to time, the walls look about as battered as my boys’ tennis shoes, showing every scuff and scrape from all their play. They bear the marks of boyhood battles. Right now, we have three holes in the walls we’re repairing - don’t ask!
Unlike us, we have friends who have bought and moved into homes where they knew the first order of business would be to take care of the walls either because they were in bad shape (maybe it, too, had been a house full of boys) or because the walls held color that begged for a swift escape. Renewal comes in many forms.
The same is true with our thoughts. If your faith is new to you, you will most definitely need to do some serious refreshing. For those who have walked their faith journey for quite some time, our minds still need to be tended to.
Why should we give attention to this? For the same reason, we need to tend to those banged-up, scuffed-up walls! We refresh the walls in our homes to provide a better environment for those living inside and for those who come to visit. We also have a responsibility to be good stewards of what we are privileged to rent or own and live in!
The same is true for our minds. We need to renew our thoughts to create the best life possible for ourselves. How else can we live an abundant life?!? Also, we want to be the best participants in the lives we are blessed to be a part of, and perhaps the biggest reason is to honor God.
We need to refresh our thoughts by aligning them with God’s thoughts! This can be perplexing because Scripture tells us that God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) But the result is worth the effort. Changed thoughts lead to changed beliefs, and changed beliefs lead to changed actions. We rise above the distractions and temptations of the world, focus our time and attention on God’s will, and perhaps most importantly, experience a deeper understanding of what God’s will IS for our lives!
Just as a worn and weary room needs new life breathed into it, our minds need the same! Just as our homes continually need constant upkeep and maintenance, so do our minds! This ongoing process requires intentionality, effort, and a willingness to allow God’s Word to reshape our thoughts and attitudes. As we align our minds with God’s truth, our hope is restored, our joy rekindled, and our faith strengthened.
This transformation doesn’t just impact our lives – it radiates outward, influencing those around us and glorifying God in the process. Let’s commit to this daily renewal. Let’s invite God to repaint the walls of our minds with His wisdom and love so that we may live abundantly in His grace and truth.
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