Be Transformed (2)

Romans 12:2; ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Renewing your mind. I had to think about what renewing something means. According to the dictionary, it means to renovate, to restore to a former state, or to a good state.

While I was in the process of figuring this out, it was recommended that I read 5 chapters of the Psalms and 1 chapter of the book of Proverbs each day. They said to use the number of the day of the month to choose which chapter of Proverbs to read and just add 5 chapters of Psalms to each day until I reached the end of both and then start over the next month. That worked out great for me.

Right in the very first chapter of Psalms, I found this;

¹ Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
² But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
³ They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

Verse 2 says to delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. Meditating means to think about it and this verse says to do that all day and night. If I am thinking about God’s law, or more importantly, His Word that is the Bible, I don’t have much time to think about all the terrible things going on around me.

When I started doing this, my thinking began to change. The first thing in my mind when something bad happened wasn’t about getting even or lashing out. I began to look at the person more closely and wondered if there was something going on in their life that I could help them change.

God was doing exactly what the verse said; He was transforming me into a new person by changing the way I was thinking.

I like to study nature, God’s creation. It provides physical answers to spiritual questions.

The Monarch butterfly starts its life as an egg attached to the underside of a leaf on the common milkweed plant. Immediately upon hatching it begins to eat at a voracious rate. It will molt (shed its outer skin) several times until it reaches a point where it will stop and spin a cocoon which is called a chrysalis.

While inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar will transform into a butterfly. It is the same creature but with a new body and behavior.

What is interesting is that the milkweed plant is toxic to other predators. The caterpillar takes on that same toxic nature, which protects it from various creatures such as birds, from eating it. When it enters the chrysalis state, the caterpillar liquifies and its body reforms into the structure of the butterfly.

My revelation into this was that the Word of God is toxic to the enemy. When I eat it, it changes my nature, arming me with protection that the enemy cannot overcome. To allow myself to mature into the new creature that God has designed for me to become, I must let go of my old self, let it liquify and be reformed into my new nature, one that God selected just for me.

Try reading 5 chapters of Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs every day like I described above. Do it purposefully for 6 months and then look back on yourself and the way you think about things after doing that.

He will transform you more than you realize!