Create In Meಮಾದರಿ

DAY 2: Create in me a Renewed Mind 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)

The renewal of your mind is critical to your creative process/thinking. 

Our mind is programmed to conform to a pattern of thinking - what we see, what we experience, what we know. The problem with the mind is it doesn’t have all the information it needs. And many a times, the vision that God has given us, the purpose that God introduces us to, is far more profound than our human mind could ever comprehend. Our finite mind cannot encompass the infinite wisdom and the knowledge that comes from our God. It often requires us to be continually transformed. Not just changed. Transformed. From the inside out. 

In Ephesians 4:23, Paul uses a striking phrase to parallel Romans 12:2. He says, “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds". Now, what does that mean? “The spirit of your mind".

 
The mind has a “spirit.” In other words, our mind has what we call a “mindset.” It doesn’t just have a view, it has a viewpoint. It doesn’t just have the power to perceive and detect; it also has a posture, a demeanor, a bearing, an attitude, a bent. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”

When you start to create something, you first begin to see or imagine what the end-product would look like. You are entrusted with a purpose and a vision, and you try to find ways of exploring that idea or vision.

 
If you ask any one who has been through the creative process long enough, they’d say the biggest roadblock is their mind. The mind limits your creativity. The mind is easily influenced by the worldly desires, and much easily affected by the opinions of those around you.

 
The vision and purpose that God gives you may not be understood by those around you. Noah was mocked when he was building the ark. If he had conformed to what people spoke, well we know what wouldn’t have happened.

 
The mindset is the direction of the mindfulness. 

Fix your eyes on things above and not of this world. Many times, when I feel distracted by what I see, the Holy Spirit guides my thoughts to concentrate on something greater, on Someone who is ABLE to do all that He says He would and MORE. That’s when I feel a shift in my mindset. I see new possibilities. I see what can happen rather than what IS happening.

My mind then, transforms my thinking, my understanding and my way to approach every roadblock and every situation.

As humans, we often feel the need to know if we are heading in the right direction. We need guidance in the creative process. We are motivated when we learn there is something greater than us and a greater power in us that is enabling us to create something. That guidance that requires the sensibility to make the right decisions and choices is provided by the Holy Spirit.

We are led by the Holy Spirit to persevere. We pursue Christ-exalting truth and we pray for truth-embracing humility.

What does the Spirit do to “transform” us? He enables us to “behold the glory of the Lord". The things that we don't understand, the Holy Spirit gives us the counsel and the knowledge of how to respond to it. Taking you one step at a time, taking you from glory to glory.

“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” – C. S. Lewis