Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
So, I have been looking at this verse in Romans, especially the renewing of my messed-up thinking, and the product of that renewal – transformation, transfiguration And I realized that I have always been so focused on the first part of this verse that I have overlooked the purpose of all this transforming/renewing - to know God's will!
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
So, what happens if I start this time studying the second half of the verse? Paul describes God's will as "good, pleasing and perfect." And look at what the word translated "good" means!
Good (agathós) – "inherently (intrinsically) good; as to the believer … (agathós) describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life, through faith."1
God's will for my life originates from God and is empowered by God in my life! Again, I see God's grace, his perfect and amazing grace! It is not something I have to somehow do myself, but God works it in me.
… for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13
Praise God! (He is always there to catch me!) The renewed mind also sees God's will as "pleasing" and "perfect."
Pleasing (euárestos) = "acceptable, well-pleasing … fully agreeable."
Perfect (téleios) = "complete, perfect, mature … mature (consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e. developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process (spiritual journey)."
So, to the renewed mind, God's will is the well-pleasing consummation of a spiritual journey originating and empowered by God himself.
But what about the "test and approve" part? The word translated as "test and approve" is dokimázō, "to try (test) to show something is acceptable (real, approved); put to the test to reveal what is good (genuine)" or "to demonstrate what is good, i.e. passes the necessary test."
It seems breathtakingly presumptuous for me to approve God's will. But that is what God wants me to do. He wants me to "taste and see that the Lord is good." And now I also begin to see that I am not only testing God's will and promises, but He is testing me. As I put my trust in Him, my life becomes a smelter; my life becomes a crucible. A demonstration to the world of God's faithfulness and goodness.
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. Proverbs 17:3
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. Job 23:10-11
However, without the renewing of my mind part, I cannot test and approve God's will, even if I want to. Because I can't trust Him. In fact, my mind is hostile to God.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh (what is merely of human origin or empowerment, what proceeds out of the untouched (unchanged) part of us – i.e. what is not transformed by God), but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Romans 8:5-7
Wow, did you see that? If I am not transformed by the renewing of my mind, if I am still viewing things from what proceeds out of the untouched (unchanged) part of me, my mind, my thinking is hostile to God. For everyone, the mind set on the things of the flesh is different. For me personally it has meant being stuck in the parentified thinking that it is all up to me, that I have to do it myself, that I can't trust God, that I have to be the "savior of the world" or something horrible will happen. Isn't that what a co-dependent, survival-at-any-cost, people-pleasing mindset is? It is so embedded in me that I haven't even been able to see it. But, because of it, I haven't been able to hear what God is saying to me. I haven't been able to fully know the will of God, let alone do it.
God has been showing me that guilt, not God, has been my anchor. That my mind is still conformed to the pattern of thinking forged by the world. That I have been stuck in this leaking little boat anchored down by guilt about not doing enough, not loving enough, not being enough, not anything enough. But living by compulsion to finally get it right or to finally be loved and acceptable, or any other reason birthed out of trauma and abuse is not faith. It is an untouched part of me, a place I have not yielded to God. Yet, letting go of guilt as my guide, cutting the guilt-anchor, feels scary. It feels like drifting out of control - until I allow the Lord to take me by the hand and lead me forward through the curtain ...
Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. Hebrews 6:18-20 (NLT)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (ESV)
1All the definitions of words in this series come from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and HELPS studies by Discovery Bible.
Image, Monarch Life Cycle – 17 of 20, by Sid Mosdell https://flic.kr/p/8kj6DK
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