The mind is a powerful tool God created for us to recognize Him and seek Him out. Sadly, most people never realize this. Popular opinion pushes its own methods, including self-help books teaching that our thoughts can help us achieve our goals and lead to happiness. There’s nothing wrong with being happy and successful, but we need to remember that God is the one who gives us the ability to think at all.     

Our minds are more than just our cognitive abilities; they also have a spiritual component that we can’t ignore. All people have limitations, and it’s impossible to be like God without God. This includes our thought lives; without Him thinking through our minds, we’ve severely limited. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). God is concerned not just with what we think, but also the motivations behind our thoughts, such as love, compassion, and humility.

God’s thoughts far exceed our thoughts. Our external environment encourages self-effort and doesn’t recognize anything we can’t define with our five senses. As a result, we put way too much faith in our own reasoning and intellectual ability to define who we are and what we can do. By comparison, God’s mindset has a different focus. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

Even the sharpest of minds are no match for God’s mind. Depending on Him instead of on our own limited mental capacity gives us supernatural insights to correct flaws we didn’t even know we had. “For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16, NKJV). Relying on His mind gives us far better results than relying on our own minds. Letting God change our mindset brings real-life transformation.

Our trust in God means more to Him than how much we understand on an intellectual level. Relying on Him instead of trying to figure things out on our own allows Him to show us things we could never find without His assistance. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5, 6, NLT). He sees the end from the beginning; it’s therefore an easy thing for Him to show us which choices in life to make for us to experience the success He wants for us.

We’ve been taught that getting what we want in life depends on doing the right things in the right order, following the rules, and depending on ourselves. This doesn’t work very well, and God is asking us to embrace a new way of thinking that includes Him in everything we do. Changing the way we think is the first step in the process. “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).

Positive thinking apart from God can’t change us. The real power to achieve comes from Him. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). This isn’t boasting, it’s simply stating the truth. Realizing this produces amazing results.