Want to be free: Alter your Thought Patterns
Two people could be going through a similar challenging experience. One may fare on well, while the other doesn’t. What happens? It has to do with mindset because as a person thinks, so they are. Ordinarily, people with resilience, self-confidence, and grit tend to fare well than those who don’t. For Christians, additional support comes from the confidence brought about by knowing the word of God, believing it, and taking action.
The Greatest Teacher of all time, Jesus Christ, said that “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32). What this means is that it is only the knowledge you have that provides freedom. Therefore, if there is an area of your life where you feel constrained, you might have limited knowledge. To gain freedom, you then need to seek more knowledge.
The knowledge that set’s a person free is applied knowledge. Mere head-knowledge won’t help; instead, it may just lead to an information overload. We must therefore go beyond mere knowledge.
Applied knowledge is called wisdom, and wisdom is the principal thing. It is the real deal! Wisdom is knowledge combined with a positive thought pattern. When we think right, based on our understanding of the Word of God, freedom comes! However, we often negate or limit the knowledge we acquire through a limiting mindset, negative beliefs, and defeatist actions.
Therefore, true freedom and deliverance come only when we help ourselves and others think differently, guided by the Word of God we know. Deliverance comes when we mix knowledge of the Word of God with a renewed mindset. Deliverance is a continuous process because freedom only happens to the extent of the Word of God we know. As we learn more scriptures and apply that knowledge, our thought patterns are renewed. We then become freer and freer. We get deliverance. We are set free!
For Christianity to have a tangible benefit, we must go beyond knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus, believing what He says, allowing that knowledge to change how we think and ultimately taking tangible action on issues that confront us.
Tags: Freedom, Mindset, Spirituality, Wisdom. Knowledge