Lasting transformation takes time. It is not achieved via a quick fix approach or through a temporary diet and exercise program. To truly sustain a lifestyle that gets the results you want while also honoring God requires a renewal of the mind. A transformation on the inside is the only thing that will ultimately sustain the external transformation we hope for.

As you begin to renew your mind and replace old thoughts with God’s truth, I want to encourage you not to get discouraged by how long this process can take. It does not happen overnight. It is literally retraining yourself to capture your thoughts and take them away captive in obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). At first they will not go away quietly, but it will get easier and easier each time.

Think about it this way; what you feed grows and what you starve dies. Just keep feeding the right thoughts and starving the wrong ones. It will take time to see the death of the old thoughts and the strengthening of the new thoughts, but it will happen!

Another analogy I love for helping explain this process is that of an unwelcome guest knocking at your door. If you have always opened the door and let them inside, they will continue to show up and keep knocking at the door, expecting to be let in. BUT, you get to choose whether you let them in. At first when you stop coming to the door, they might keep showing up hoping that you will let them in, but eventually they will stop knocking altogether.

Don’t know where to start with replacing old thoughts with new ones? The first step is awareness. Catch yourself when you’re thinking things outside of what aligns with God‘s truth, or even when you’re framing things in a negative way. Even if they are not direct lies, negativity does not serve you in any way. Follow the advice of Philippians 4:8 and think on things which are pure, true, lovely, right, noble, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.

Something else that can be extraordinarily helpful is to journal your thoughts during your quiet time around the subject matter that you are working hard in partnership with God to overcome. I like to add scriptures that I come across and then journal what the Lord is speaking to me or teaching me through them so that I can apply the changes I need to in my life. It is important that we be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). More than just an insight, you are looking for application points. When you start to search the word with the lens of looking for specific answers, the Lord will start to speak! You’ll be amazed at how He will direct you to other things throughout your day which also shed light on things you are battling.

Remember that when we ask, seek, and knock He will be faithful to answer—ask and it will be given, seek and you will fond, knock the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7). There is one translation that says ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. I love this because it speaks to the truth that sometimes our battles take time and we must persist before they are won. He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)

Remember that we are more than conquerors in Christ! (Romans 8:37)

Not sure where to start? Hit me up in the DM’s! This is the basis of my coaching, both with my 1:1 clients and with Dashing Dish Stronger Together group coaching. And if you just want to schedule a call and not jump into ongoing coaching, you can do that too!

Are you ready? Let’s get growing!

|Kaci