Holy Spirit, Renew My Mind

Weekly Nehemiah Devotional

Do you know the Holy Spirit? 
Are you led by the Holy Spirit? 
Have you allowed Him to renew your mind?  

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. – Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)

Holy Spirit, Renew My Mind

The Apostle Paul is reminding us of the blessed work of the Holy Spirit – our Comforter (John 14:26) and the Renewer of our thoughts and attitudes. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would “lead us into all truth” (John 14:17).

He can do this by guiding us as we read the Word of God; by helping us to pray; by strengthening and renewing us in our mind, spirit, and soul; and by filling us afresh and transforming us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

The expanded meaning of the Greek word translated as “Comforter” includes: “Counsellor”; “Helper”; “Intercessor”; “Advocate”; “Strengthener”; and “Standby”. 

Those are powerful attributes. Holy Spirit, please renew my mind!

In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul gives us a further reason why we should earnestly ask the Comforter to transform us through the renewing of our minds – so that we may know what is “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

These three – good, acceptable, and perfect – are different levels of obedience to the will of God. “Good” is usually what people attempt to accomplish by their own efforts. “Acceptable” is usually a mixture of self-effort and a measure of the Holy Spirit. But “Perfect” is when we are attuned to the leading of the Holy Spirit all the way. 

“Good, acceptable, and perfect” can also be equated to the levels of intimacy as illustrated by the Tabernacle of Moses, which was designed so that the outer courts were lit with natural light, and the Holy Place was lit with candlelight; but the Holy of Holies was illuminated only by the Glory of God. 

The outer court was noisy, the Holy Place was more intimate, but the Holy of Holies was the place of a deeply intimate, face-to-face encounter with the Almighty.

If your mind is not renewed, or simply tired and worn out, you will lack the spiritual stamina and/or the desire to pass beyond the outer courts. 

From there, you can easily find yourself trapped in a place where the will of God seems difficult, tiring, out of reach, and perhaps impossible. 

When we are relying upon our own efforts, all of those could very well be true, and we could find ourselves caught in a trajectory that spirals downward and away from the healthy contentment of walking in the center of God’s plan for our lives.

We need a “Holy of Holies renewal” of our minds – it’s the only way to discern, activate, and execute the perfect will of God for our lives. God wants the best for you – that you be changed every moment from Glory to greater Glory.

Will you allow the Holy Spirit to renew your thoughts and attitudes? Will you put on your new nature? Will you spend sufficient time in the Holy of holies so that when you cry, “Holy Spirit, renew my mind”, He immediately does so?

I pray that the answer is “yes” and that you will be found walking in the center of the perfect will of God at all times, with a fully renewed mind. 

My prayer for you today is that your mind will be renewed by the Holy Spirit, and that you will experience a new nature in Christ as you serve Him in the Marketplace.  

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