Day Eleven

YOUR MIND

Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

—ROMANS 12:2 CEV

What’s on your mind right now? Here are the thoughts that are in my head this very minute (because I’m sure you’re just on the edge of your seat in anticipation): Some guy I’m supposed to know just came into the coffee shop. This chai latte is definitely not the best I’ve ever had. Why isn’t the Wi-Fi working? That guy has a lot of beard hair. A lot.

Everything in the body depends on the working of the mind. The brain is the core organ. You can have a heart transplant, a leg or an arm transplant, even a lung transplant. But there is no substitute for the brain God has given you. Your mind is yours alone.

Our imaginations are amazing. Just think: every book, television show, movie, song, piece of furniture, street design, pair of flip-flops—everything—was once an idea. Simply a thought in someone’s brain. And because your brain is so important—all of your genius math equations, famous quotes, childhood songs, and fashion sense are housed there—it’s vital that you protect it.

Your mind is a container, but it’s a fragile container. So being brave means taking measures to protect it. Things are going to fill it—that’s just the nature of your mind. It’s up to you to decide what gets to fill that container.

Everything depends on the working of the mind.

What are the portals to your mind? Your eyes. Your ears. Those are the places you need to guard. What you hear and what you see will affect your brain (and heart) greatly. So having wisdom when it comes to intake matters so, so much.

At the same time, your mind can do many good things for you. Use it well—create beautiful things; follow through with great ideas; love people who pop into your mind. If God has put the sparks of an idea into your mind, you can be brave enough to follow through. (Trust the sparks, friend; trust the sparks.)

Our minds are so powerful. I’m praying that you would ask for God to give you His mind, the mind of Christ. And that you would be brave enough to protect your mind, allow God to change the way you think, and then change this world with the ideas that can become reality. (Those sparks. I believe in them!)

BE BRAVE: What is one thought, one spark, one idea in your head that you think God may have put there? Write it down. (And at some point, do something with the spark!)