And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. – Romans 12:2
Everywhere a lady looks in this world she sees opportunities to alter her person.
Makeup displays, workout programs, and style junkies assault her senses, challenging her to “improve” herself. If she is not careful, the noise of this world can tune out the Spirit within her, calling her to resist conformation and embrace transformation.
“Transformed” in Romans 12:2 comes from the Greek “metamorphoo” (say it a couple of times, it might make you smile.) This word, speaks of metamorphosis, or that changing which a caterpillar experiences prior to becoming a butterfly.
So what did God mean by commanding us to be metamorphosed?
The next phrase gives us a clue: “by the renewing of your mind.” Do our thoughts not need renewing every day, multiple times a day? “Renewing” also means “renovation.”
How often do you stop and give your thoughts a renovation? This renovation might be forcefully choking a negative, complaining attitude and choosing to repeat verses about rejoicing in the Lord. Perhaps you need to change your thinking about a person you have always disliked and instead ask for grace to love them unconditionally. It could involve demolishing old thought patterns like decayed old walls, in order to build new ones in their place. But it always involves the Word of God.
Use Philippians 4:8 as your filter.
“Not true? Has to go. What about this one? That is not honest nor just! Pure and lovely—hmm, not sure; better air on the side of not.”
What if we try to apply Philippians 4:8 for just one day; do you think God will reveal to us just how much renovation needs to take place in our minds?
A renewed mind is almost a passive experience when we saturate our thoughts with the Word of God, both through reading and memorization. (I recommend either choosing a whole passage to commit to memory, or selecting a verse or verses from your daily Bible time.) Then, by little and little, the Spirit of God performs the transformation process from the inside out.
What is the end result? “That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The word “prove” here can mean “to test” but also “to discern”. Either way, by choosing to experience for yourself the good (beneficial), acceptable (well-pleasing), and perfect (complete, fulfilled) will which God has designed just for you!
God does not give a timetable for the results in this command. He does not say to renew your mind for thirty minutes every day for four weeks, and then you will experience His will. This is a daily, sometimes hourly, project of reminding yourself of the truths in His Word in order to combat the flesh and the world, which inundate your inner man with corrupted thoughts. But there is also no parameter.
Apparently, if you renew your mind once, then you experience God’s will. Renew again, God’s will again. Renew the next day, God reveals His will to you again.
Laura started attending Lehigh Valley Baptist Church as a child when her family moved to the area. For years, her primary passion was in nursing and furthering her education. In the midst of pursuing a medical degree, God changed her plans and she married Jonathan Snow (read their story here). Now, she has discovered a special fulfillment from being a wife and a mother! Truly, God’s ways are always for our good and for His glory.