Battle Ready by Kelly BalarieSample

Day Three: A New Way of Thinking

The first two days of vacation, it can be hard to settle in after tackling all the to-dos before you left—work, laundry, scheduling…. But after a couple of days at your destination, you begin to relax.

Our mind needs time to settle into a new way of thinking too. We do this by being with God, without internal tirades. We take a “mind vacation” so that by day three or thirty or sixty we relax into God’s thoughts, not our instinctive ones. Changes come easier. We hear God more clearly. His words come alive. We move lengths from our problem to see the heights of our God working in the depths of our heart. 

From the perspective of a mind vacation, what might God be nudging you to stop repeating, rehashing, or reliving even if you’ve always believed it to be true? How might doing this help you experience God’s love afresh?

If it is God’s kindness that saves and cleanses us, why do we, in haste, keep speaking mean to ourselves? If God is kind, shouldn’t we be that way too? 

The truth is, your identity is God’s daughter. 

Do you know what this means? If you ask God for bread, He won’t give you a stone. Why? Because what good parent would do this? None. When my daughter is hungry, I run to find her favorite fruit, a nectarine. When she really wants to look pretty, I search through her closet for something special. When my son searches the ground, hunting for a hidden quarter, I toss one down when he’s not looking. I try to give them not just the good gift but the best gift. 

God is not withholding His goodness from you, either. He is a giver, but sometimes His best giving comes after hard living. Likewise, sometimes I parent my children in a way that transforms their heart right after severe hurt has befallen them. I don’t set out to hurt them, but I still use the situation for their good. The main point is, I nearly always aim to have their “best” good in mind. 

What if you actually started to believe God has good gifts for you because you are His beloved daughter? 

What thoughts does your mind need a vacation from? What Bible verses about your identity as God’s daughter could replace those thoughts?