The way you think about things affects the way you see things. If you think something is a blessing, it will look a whole lot like a blessing. If you think something is a burden, it will feel like a burden all the way deep down in your bones. The power is in how you THINK about anything.

What if some of the very things causing you stress and worry in your life could be shifted simply by changing your thoughts about them? Would you? Would you be willing to change the way you think for more peace? Would you be willing to exchange your old thoughts for new thoughts if it meant you could be happier?

It’s a cheap and easy yes to that proposal, of course you want peace, of course you would choose happiness … but really, would you? The truth is, we’re stupid attached to our old way of thinking. We replay the same old story over and over again in our mind until it has it’s own thought pattern, deeply ingrained within our mind. The pattern becomes so deep it’s as if our thoughts have no other choice but to go in the direction of the dark trenches they have created.

Changing your thoughts isn’t so easy. It’s a true mental battle to stop thinking the same things you’ve always thought. And if the enemy can keep you stuck in your same old thoughts, you will never see the new life being offered to you.

Yip, there it is! You have a new life offered to you through Jesus. A promise of freedom from everything that has ever served to hold you back in the past. A future greater than anything you can imagine. A future that fits perfectly with the purpose for which you were created, and when you step into it, it’s like finding the groove you’ve always been searching for. Suddenly everything you went through makes sense and it’s all being used for good now. Suddenly every little quirky detail about you is priceless because you can see how you were perfectly designed by the Almighty for something so much greater. That’s the groove. We all want it. We want the groove of this new life that fits like a glove. We want to step into all God is offering us.

Why aren’t we?

It’s our old thoughts.

Your old thoughts threaten to keep you from ever experiencing this new life offered to you by Jesus. Your old thoughts keep you seeing things in the old way, and you never see the new things God is doing.

In Isaiah 43:19 God says “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

But you will never see this new thing God is doing if you’re not willing to change your thoughts about it. You could be standing by the trailhead of the path that will lead you to God’s great plans for your life, but if all you’re thinking about is how lost you are in the wilderness, then wilderness is all you will see. God says “SEE I AM DOING SOMETHING NEW HERE! I am making a way through this for you!” But if you’re not willing to start thinking about finding the way, you’re never going to see it.

God said “See this new thing I am doing here, I am making streams in the wasteland.” The problem is if you’ve been in a wasteland long enough where nothing ever happens, you lose hope of anything ever happening. You become so focused on all the waste, you miss the stream God is creating.

Maybe you’re in the middle of a wasteland. This is the place where everything just seems to be wasted. Your time has been wasted. Your efforts have been wasted. You’re no better than when you started, and it’s all been wasted. That sucks. I hate the feeling of waste. Like I did all of that for absolutely nothing. After so much wasted effort, you no longer want to even try again. You settle in the middle of the wasteland and accept it’s just how it is for you, and how it will always be. But have you missed God has created a stream here? He is offering new life here. He is doing something new where nothing new has ever happened before. But if you’re not looking for it, you will miss it.

Start looking for what God is doing here. Yes, here. Here in your wasteland. Here in your wilderness. God is doing something new here and you don’t want to miss this. A way through the wilderness is being made. A new beginning in the wasteland is being offered. Don’t allow the enemy to keep you stuck in your same old thoughts and cause you to miss the new life being offered to you.

Ephesians 4:23 “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”

I know you’ve tried to change your thoughts before and it’s been a losing battle, but have you ever asked God to help you with that? Seriously, have you ever asked God to renew your thoughts? It’s a powerful prayer, try it! LORD, GIVE ME NEW THOUGHTS HERE. I DON’T WANT TO THINK THE WAY I’VE BEEN THINKING.

God’s Spirit dwells within you. That Spirit is powerful! It is the source of your ‘gut feelings’ that prompts you without being able to explain it. It is the source of guidance and direction to lead you to the good plans God has for you. And if you allow it, that Spirit can be your guide in your thoughts and completely change your attitude.

Maybe you have some old thoughts that are really holding you back. Old thought patterns that disrupt your peace, stall your progress, and threaten your potential. It’s just how you think. But how you think is affecting everything you see. And maybe those thoughts are causing you to miss what God is doing. You’re missing the path in the wilderness and the stream in the wasteland because your thoughts have been squarely focused on the dark wilderness and the hated wasteland for years. You can’t see a dang new thing God is doing here because your thoughts are stuck in deep dark trenches from years of thinking the same things over and over again.

I can’t pull you out of that. You can’t pull you out of that. This is a job for the Spirit of God. LET THE SPIRIT RENEW YOUR THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES.

This begins with a desire. Do you WANT to see what God may be doing here, or do you want to stay stuck here? You decide. Do you really want something different? Something better? Something more?

Okay, then let yourself want it! Decide you really want to find your way out of this wilderness. Decide you really want to see new life in this wasteland. Something happens when you allow yourself to want what God is offering. That desire helps you see what you’ve been settling for is so far short of what’s truly available to you.

God, we want everything you have to offer us. Please don’t let us get stuck along the way in our old thoughts and bad attitudes. Renew us beginning with our mind.

When you allow God to begin renewing your mind, you begin seeing everything in a different light. You see things you had been missing before. You notice God’s fingerprints on details that tell you he is working for you in every way imaginable. Suddenly what was once a burden begins to feel a whole lot more like a blessing. Suddenly failed plans are celebrated because you know that means something better is coming together for you. Suddenly your whole world looks a whole lot different because you see the path in the wilderness, you notice the stream in the wasteland and you have proof God is doing something new for you!

The enemy doesn’t get to steal this new thing God is offering you. He doesn’t get to darken your thoughts and rot your attitude. He’s not allowed in your mind any longer. This isn’t his playground! The Spirit has been invited into my thoughts and in the middle of my attitude, and he’s doing a total renewal here.

Why? Because I finally decided I want him to! I’m ready for this! Spirit, come renew my thoughts and attitudes! I’m ready to step out of the old and behold the new work you are doing here!