Do you ever feel like the world is out of control and your mind along with it? Is it possible to have an empowered mindset when it feels like you’re surrounded by negativity? How did people in the Bible handle the hard times in their lives?
The Bible has plenty to say about an empowered mindset
Paul is a great example of someone in the Bible who had an empowered mindset. While imprisoned in Rome and preparing to face his execution, he wrote to his student, Timothy, and reminded him that “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (II Timothy 1:7) Though Paul couldn’t control his circumstances, he knew he could control how he reacted to them, and he encouraged Timothy to do the same.
Paul also shared his strategies for an empowered mindset with the church in Philippi when he wrote to them in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” He goes on to say at the end of verse 9, “Then the peace of God will be with you.” He also reminds them in verse 13, “For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”
When it came to mindset, Paul laid it all out. He warned in Romans 8:5-6, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Anyone can have an empowered mindset
Paul wasn’t the only person in the Bible to display an empowered mindset. Another example of an empowered mindset can be found in the story of David and Goliath.
What many people take away from this story is David’s defeat of the giant harassing the Israelite army, of which his brothers were part of. Defeating the 9’ tall Goliath with a simple sling and stone could only have happened through God, but it all began with David’s mindset about the situation.
When his father told him to carry supplies to the army at the Valley of Elah, David showed up in time to witness what had become a daily scene – the Philistine’s number one warrior, Goliath, using his gigantic size and macho head games to intimidate the Israelite soldiers, reminding them that he was an all-star warrior while they were only King Saul’s servants.
Hearing these insults, young David asked the soldiers, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (I Samuel 17:26) His brothers tried to shut him up by telling him that he didn’t know what he was talking about. Word got back to King Saul, leader of the army, about David’s questions, and the boy was soon brought before him.
With what might have seemed like arrogance, David informed the king not to worry, that he would fight Goliath on the army’s behalf. King Saul raised his eyebrows at this. Goliath had been fighting “since his youth”, and there was no way a boy like David could possibly beat him.
But David had an empowered mindset. He explained to the king, “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats. When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” (I Samuel 17:32-37)
You probably know the story from there. Saul offered David his armor, but David wouldn’t take it. The young shepherd marched off alone to face the Philistine’s best warrior, armed with only a sling, five stones, and an empowered mindset that he was fighting “the Lord’s battle”, and that God would give Goliath over to him. Which is exactly what happened.
David displayed an empowered mindset in many situations throughout his life. Perhaps one of the most recognized examples is from Psalm 23:4, where he declares, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”
Want to learn how to have an empowered mindset? Start with Scripture.
Paul and David aren’t the only ones in the Bible who displayed an empowered mindset. Whether it was Queen Esther’s decision to challenge the treatment of her people or Ruth’s belief that she should follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, into an unknown land, the Bible is filled with men and women who took control of their thoughts and applied an empowered mindset to their situations.
If you’d like to learn how to have this mindset in your own life, the Bible is a perfect starting point. As you read some of the classic Bible stories, look for how God’s people used an empowered mindset to face the challenges that came their way. Paul’s letters in the New Testament are a great way to begin. You can have an empowered mindset, too. As Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
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Read more about shifting your mindset and perspective in How to Go from Surviving Stress to Thriving With It and 3 Steps to Create New Pathways in Your Mind.
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