#betransformed

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12v2

 Over the past weeks I've been following Paul's story through the books of Acts and now Romans. Romans 12 has always been a favorite and over the past week I've spent my daily devotion time reading and re-reading this chapter. 

3 weeks ago God put it on my heart that things weren't right. Something was off. It was revealed to me that my priorities were off. I was spending a lot of time worshiping things that weren't worthy of my worship. Through some prayer I noticed God was challenging me to re-evaluate how I was spending my time. I realized that I was wasting a lot of time reading stuff online. None of it was bad in and of itself but it was still distracting me from where my attention was supposed to be. I decided that, amongst other things, I would give up Facebook for two weeks. The fact that I'm writing this blog post to you is proof that one CAN survive without being notified that someone has had spaghetti for supper or that someone else is #eatinganoreo. I want to share with you some other things that I learned over those two weeks, how it ties into Romans 12v2 and what life is like now. In the passage above Paul tells us 3 things:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world."

How do you know if you are conforming to the patterns of this world? Do you fit in? Do people look at you funny because of the things you do/don't do? I'm not talking about being a hipster. I'm talking about do your thoughts, actions and words identify your allegiance to the world or to Christ? 

During my two weeks I realized that my actions were becoming more worldy. I was becoming attracted to the "shiny things". These seemingly innocent things were stealing my time and attention from what was important. 

"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

How do we change the direction of our actions? By having our minds renewed. The way that we think and view things will affect our actions. If I want to love God with all my heart, soul and mind then I need to believe that He is worth it. A few things to realize about having your mind transformed: 

1) You can't do it on your own. Without giving it over to Christ you will never renew your mind. Your efforts are how you got to where you are in the first place. 

2) You've probably got too much noise in your life to hear God. I knew that Facebook isn't the biggest problem I deal with daily but I also realized that it was a noise that was keeping me from hearing God. By eliminating the noise it was unbelievable how clearly I could hear God. For some it might not happen very quickly. Perhaps you need to relearn what His voice sounds like. Once you silence the white noise in your life and you hear Him you will be on your way to transforming your mind.

3) It doesn't happen overnight. I would love to say that after two weeks life is perfect. It's not. But what has happened is that the desires of my heart have started to change. God is working to complete His work in me and is taking me on a journey. Throughout the two weeks I started to find my priorities and seek God more. The more I sought God the more I found myself wanting to seek Him. Now that I'm allowed back on Facebook I find myself not wanting to go there. It doesn't satisfy. While there are still temptations to waste time I am moving in a God-ward direction and and learning more and more every day.

"Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is."
During the first few days of my Facebook Fast I experienced an unbelievable amount of clarity in my life. It was as if the fog had lifted and I could see what God was doing. When we silence the noise of our life we open up the lines of communication for God to speak His will into our lives. If you feel like God isn't speaking to you, before you blame Him, look at what might be tying up your line.

I am not cured of all my problems. I still daily have to surrender my life and my mind over to Christ and ask Him to renew it for me. I know that there will be more times in my life when I find myself conforming to the world's patterns and I will need Him to help me break the mold. I also know that He is willing and He is constantly pursuing me and will never give up on me.

I struggled to write this post. I almost didn't. Pride didn't want me to show weakness. Pride didn't want me to admit that I have Facebook problems. Why did I write it? Because I know that some of you out there are dealing with things that you are embarrassed to deal with. James 4v10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."

tl;dr: conform, transform!

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What are areas of your life you find yourself conforming to the patterns of the world?

Where have you experienced renewing of your mind? 
Have you tried a Media Fast yet? If yes, how'd it go? If not, what's stopping you?

Leave a comment or a question below! 
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What I'm Listening To