Part 3: If I'm Saved, Why Am I Stuck? 3 Mindsets You Need to Thrive & Overcome!
This blog post is a transcript of Episode 8 from the Day One of Sobriety Podcast
Sometimes you can feel stuck in your Christian walk. The “Sweet Life” with Jesus can feel more sour than you’d like to admit. You look at believers with “unshakable faith” from a vantage point of shaking in your boots, wondering what they have that you don’t?
I walked in those shaky boots for two decades before I discovered a consistent, unchanging, and unshakable God. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I went from being ruled by my emotions to living a life fueled by faith.
In this “If I’m Saved, Why Am I Stuck?” blog series, we’ve been uncovering the mind renewal mindsets that keep believers from getting stuck, and moves them forward towards healing, restoration, and transformation.
What is a Mind Renewal Mindset?
A mindset is a mental attitude. It shapes how you interpret and respond to situations. A mindset develops over time when similar patterns of thought collect together. It acts like a lens, and you use this lens to view the world, yourself, and others. Mindsets will influence your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Mind renewal, or renewing your mind, means actively changing how you think. It moves you away from negative patterns of thought that align with the world and move you towards the patterns of thought that align with God’s truth. Mind renewal is a process of personal growth and transformation, where you purposefully and intentionally replace old, harmful mindsets with new ones based on God’s Word.
So a mind renewal mindset will be a lens that will influence your growth and transformation as a Christian. It helps you move away from old patterns of behavior that dominated your life before Christ. These mindsets influence your growth – the direct opposite of being stuck; or not growing, not transforming, and not renewing.
Review of Mindsets 1 & 2
In the first blog of this series we discussed Mindset #1: Embrace Change & Commit to the Process. In a nutshell it’s about choosing whom you will serve. Your old mindset wants to live a soul-led life, serving and catering to your soul – that is your mind, will, and emotions – and the world in which you live.
When you received the gift of salvation, Jesus renewed your spirit, and through this transaction, you received new perspectives and new desires to live according to God’s plan. In an instant you received a new ability to live a spirit-led life as a child of God. A spirit-led life is guided by the Holy Spirit and caters to or prioritizes spiritual growth.
This new ability is the foundation that fuels the formation of your new mindset to live spirit-led and prioritizes God over the wants and desires of your soul. Serve God or serve your soul. A mindset that embraces change and commits to the process will keep you on a path of spiritual growth.
In last week’s blog we discussed Mindset #2: Nurture & Grow Your Relationship with God. Living a spirit-led life built upon a relationship with God is critical.
This mindset influences your spiritual growth because it prioritizes your relationship with God. You don’t make excuses for not praying, reading God’s Word, or not attending church. You know that without these things, you won’t grow. They become non-negotiables. You start small and steadily build a relationship with the Holy Spirit through the Three C’s: Community, Connection, and Communication (read previous blog for more details on these).
Let’s Talk About Faith
This brings us to Mindset #3: Faith is Not a Feeling - It’s a Choice - You choose to shift your mindset from thinking naturally with your soul, which relies on your mind, will, and emotions, to thinking supernaturally with your spirit, which relies on a supernatural God that is greater than the obstacle or circumstance you face.
We learned that a mindset is a mental attitude. It shapes how you interpret and respond to situations. A mindset develops over time when similar patterns of thoughts collect together. So then faith is a supernatural mindset that develops over time and is built and reinforced by God’s movement in your life.
Faith is a relational force and it’s by faith that you received salvation. It was a choice to believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins, a choice to accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and a choice to receive the gift of eternal life – it all came by faith.
There’s a reason this mindset is presented last. Mindset #1: Embrace Change & Commit to the Process, and Mindset #2: Nurture and Grow Your Relationship with God, both develop your supernatural faith mindset. Living a spirit-led life, and deepening your relationship with the Holy Spirit through community, connection, and communication, builds unshakable faith that stands against life’s challenges.
Faith occurs when we cease trying to do something by our own efforts, and trust God to do it for us. Faith is the one attitude that is exactly the opposite of trusting ourselves. Faith is not letting fear of the circumstance or obstacles paralyze us. That’s why faith is not grounded in our souls, but in our spirits.
Since this blog is a blend of scientific and biblical principles related to mind renewal, let’s talk science for a bit.
The Nonconscious Mind
95% of what we are exposed to on a daily basis is wired into our nonconscious mind. This may be a new term for many of you. Nonconscious is not unconscious. Nonconscious describes the part of the mind that operates outside of our immediate awareness, yet still significantly influences our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and perspectives.
For example, blinking your eyes or digesting your food are nonconscious mental processes. Many of our emotional reactions, particularly those triggered by past experiences, happen nonconsciously.
The nonconscious mind also plays a significant role in shaping our actions, preferences, and perceptions of the world. Which means what we’ve wired into our nonconscious mind will shape our mindsets.
If 95% of what we are exposed to on a daily basis is wired into our nonconscious mind, and the nonconscious mind shapes our mindsets, we must look carefully at our daily activities and experiences. Are we wiring in thoughts that will fuel our faith, or thoughts that will fuel our feelings?
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist says, “Whatever you think about most, grows.” The principle that thoughts influence reality has been expressed throughout history by a variety of individuals.
Earl Nightingale said, "We become what we think about most of the time".
The Buddha is credited with saying, "The mind is everything. What you think you become".
Napoleon Hill is known for the quote, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve", and
Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "You become what you think about all day long".
God has an opinion on this, too, and it’s the concept of “guarding your gates” – it’s being intentional about what you let into your life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Gates are access points, and in biblical times, cities were fortified with gates, controlling who and what entered. Similarly, our hearts have “gates” through which information and influences flow. The “four gates” to the soul are identified as the ear, eye, mouth, and feet:
What you listen to through your ear gate shapes your thoughts and beliefs.
What you watch and read through your eye gate can influence your perceptions and desires.
The words that come out of your mouth gate reveal what’s in your heart and can build up or tear down.
Where you go with your feet gate and who you spend time with affects your perspectives and choices.
So let’s pull this all together and connect it back to the Mindset: Faith is not a feeling - it’s a choice.
Faith is a Conscious Choice
Faith is not a feeling, and you don’t need to feel faith in order to exercise your faith. Faith does not come naturally, that’s why it is supernatural. It’s a skill that must be taught, applied, and experienced.
The phrase "we walk by faith, not by sight,” is from 2 Corinthians 5:7, and the Apostle Paul uses these words to encourage believers to live with an eternal perspective. This means making decisions and living your life based on trust in God, His Word, and His promises. It means choosing to believe in things unseen and trusting that God is working, even if you can’t see it.
If you are walking by sight, you’re relying solely on what you can see, understand, or experience with your physical senses. This means you’ll be swayed by circumstances or appearances, instead of maintaining trust in God’s plan.
The more time you spend with God, the more trust and assurance you have, the more faith you develop. You know God’s got your back.
If you are mindful of what is coming through your gates on a daily basis and mindful of its impact on your thoughts, beliefs, perceptions, and choices, you will wire in thoughts that fuel our faith. If you don’t guard your gates, you can unknowingly wire in thoughts that will fuel fear, worry, and doubt.
You Can Shift From Fear to Faith
For many years I operated with a mindset that I was unlovable. This mindset wasn’t created overnight. It was fueled from a collection of unhealthy relationships, hurts, and experiences. This mindset created a toxic personality that included perfectionism, a need to control, and belief that people pleasing gained acceptance.
Even after salvation, It took me a long time to break the habit of trying to earn God’s love through my works and to relinquish control to God so he could begin to heal my wounded heart. Faith was difficult for me. Why? I had a need for control and an unhealthy reliance on myself and my own abilities. I did things for others but didn’t let others do things for me. I led a soul-life for too long, which kept me circling the addiction mountain longer than necessary.
I developed these three mind renewal mindsets and know they work. I was a stuck Christian until these mindsets helped me come unglued. When I really leaned into the Holy Spirit to help me live a spirit-led life, everything changed. In Philippians 4:7, Paul describes a “peace that surpasses all understanding.” It’s a deep, unexplainable sense of calm and well-being that can be experienced even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
I remember the first time I experienced this. One of my sons was experiencing extreme panic and anxiety attacks in high school. There’s no feeling of helplessness like when your child is struggling. When he’d have an attack, all his vital signs would go off the charts: heart rate, blood pressure, breathing. At first the school nurse could manage it. Every time he’d have an episode, the nurse would call and I’d go to the school. Luckily I worked only 5 minutes away. This went on for a while but he wasn’t improving. I remember the day I got the call saying that all of his vitals had dropped dangerously low and that they couldn’t even get a blood pressure reading. He was being transported to the hospital via ambulance. I hung up the phone, reached for my car keys and was mid-step when I stopped, turned around, and went back to my desk. I calmly sat down and dialed a dear friend and believer. I asked him to call our friends and get prayer activated for my son.
The panic attacks had continually gotten worse, and I was powerless to fix the situation. I CHOSE to surrender the situation to God and by FAITH, relied on Him to intervene. I felt the panic and concern drain from me, and it was replaced with peace and strength.
Several weeks later as I continued to pray and lean into God, my son improved until the panic attacks were completely gone. The circumstances shifted when I stopped reacting with my feelings and chose to exercise my faith.
Faith - WYKYK (When You Know You Know)
Ten years later, my faith in my Abba Father has grown stronger and deeper. I wouldn’t describe myself as unshakable. . . yet, but that’s exactly how I describe my God. This is sometimes hard for my friends and family who don’t believe in God to understand.
I explain it to them like this: Biblical faith is a balanced perspective; it’s believing God’s Word in the face of one’s circumstances, while not ignoring circumstances or pretending that no problem exists.
Faith does not deny the obstacle, but declares that God is greater than the obstacle. Faith does not deny that a sickness is in the body, but declares Jesus’ ability to heal the body. Faith does not deny financial need, but acknowledges Jesus’ ability to meet our needs.
For example, imagine the company where you work sends out notices to employees that they’ll be downsizing or closing departments. Fear says, “What if I lose my job? How will I pay my bills?” And worry takes root! But Faith says, “Even if I lose my job, I know that God will provide opportunities for a new job.” Peace settles in.
As I’ve become bolder and more vocal about my faith, I’ve opened myself up to criticism and I’ve been called a fool on more than one occasion! Well sometimes having faith is being willing to look foolish, and in my opinion, I’m in very good company. Let me share a story to wrap it all up.
Poll after poll has found that most people's number one fear is speaking in public. Death ranks number two. That means some people would rather die than speak in public. Why? lt's the fear of looking foolish ... But faith is the willingness to look foolish.
Noah looked foolish building an ark in the desert.
Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety.
The Israelites looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets.
David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot.
The wise men looked foolish following a star.
Peter looked foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake.
And Jesus looked foolish hanging half naked on the cross.
But that's the essence of faith. And the results speak for themselves.
Noah was saved from the flood.
Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
The walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
David defeated Goliath.
The wise men found the Messiah.
Peter walked on water.
And Jesus rose from the dead.
The greatest breakthroughs, miracles, and turning points in Scripture can be traced back to someone who was willing to look foolish. Hebrews 11 lists many heroes of faith who trusted God’s promises. Read it and be encouraged!
Your next breakthrough, miracle, or turning point may just be one foolish faith choice away. Say this prayer aloud:
The Word says of God in Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Father, I thank you for being an accessible God who desires a close relationship with me; and I thank you for giving me access to your thoughts through
your gift to me, the Holy Spirit. Father God, and I ask you to stir up the Holy Spirit within me and cause a fresh fire to come alive. Awaken me, spirit to Spirit,
and cause me to yearn for a deeper connection to you, to your son Jesus, and to me personal teacher, the Holy Spirit. Help me to lean into and
embrace the changes I need in my life and to stay committed to the process that moves me from glory to glory. Guide me into a spirit-led life
that brings peace and joy to overflowing measures. I pray in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!
Next Steps:
I encourage you to listen to EP 2: Is Your Mind a Mental Mess? The Four Warning Signals You Need to Know, EP 3: You Were Created for Mind Renewal - Discover the Truth About Your Amazing Brain! and EP 4: How Do I Begin to Change? The Triple AAA Plan! These episodes will provide a deeper explanation of the scientific and biblical principles of mind renewal.
I also invite you to join our Mind Renewal Solution Made Simple Facebook group where you’ll find resources geared at helping you apply this mindset. Don’t stay stuck! Remember, knowledge will fill you up, but application will transform you!
