A New Mindset Can Change Your Life - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - May 29, 2026
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV.
When I volunteered at my children’s elementary school library, I always looked forward to seeing the mural there. It depicted how “thoughts become things” by showing how thoughts grow into attitudes, which then lead to actions that shape the direction of people’s whole lives. That mural regularly reminded me of the importance of paying attention to the kinds of attitudes I was developing and where they could lead me.
Ephesians 4:22-24 emphasizes the importance of renewing your mind as you cooperate with God to be made new. Your thoughts eventually settle into attitudes. Those attitudes then dictate your actions. When you repeat those actions, they become habits, and those habits ultimately determine the entire direction of your life.
For example, if you allow a thought like “I’m always going to be a victim of my circumstances,” to take root, it becomes a cynical attitude. That attitude makes you act defensively or give up easily, leading you down a path away from God, the source of hope. But if you address your “old self” at the thought level, you break the cycle before the damage is done.
When you ask the Holy Spirit to help you be made new in the attitude of your mind, you stop letting anyone or anything except God Himself tell you who you are. You’re constantly bombarded in this fallen world by voices that try to define your identity in ways that are much less than who you really are from God’s perspective. Your inner critic or other people may tell you that you have to have something in this world – like a successful career or an attractive appearance – to be a worthy person. But if you base your identity in worldly things, you’ll discover that those are “deceitful desires,” as these Bible verses point out. Your only true identity is as one of God’s beloved children. It’s only by renewing your mind that you can see reality and learn to love yourself the way God loves you.
Mind renewal is the process of silencing deceitful voices and instead filtering every single thought through the truth God’s Spirit teaches you. Imagine your mind has a spiritual filter. When a thought enters your mind, you can stop and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what direction that thought is leading you in. Pray for discernment to know whether that thought is leading you closer to God or farther away from God. If the thought doesn’t line up with who God says you are, don’t let it stay. You can put it off like dirty laundry.
Renewing your mind with help from God’s Holy Spirit changes your perspective on everything. When the Spirit makes you new in your attitude, you can see hope and possibilities. A problem at work becomes an opportunity for God to help you solve it. A disappointment in a relationship becomes a chance to practice grace with God’s help. As your attitudes align with God’s perspective, you’re no longer held back by deceitful desires and are free to live a life that reflects God’s best for you.
This is a constant process of replacing the lies you’ve believed with the reality of who God is. Ephesians 4:22-24 uses the imagery of clothing for a reason. You have to “put on” the new self. Just like you wouldn’t walk out of your house without first getting dressed, you shouldn’t step into your day without choosing the best mindset – the mindset that reflects the truth of God’s perspective. This “new self” is created to be like God, so when you put it on, you have access to the peace and patience that come with seeing your life from God’s perspective.
But you can’t do this by your own willpower. You’ve probably tried to be less anxious or more patient on your own, only to find yourself back in your old patterns soon. The “old self” is heavy, and its deceitful desires are strong.
This is why you must ask the Holy Spirit regularly for help. God’s Spirit is the one who empowers renewal. The Holy Spirit gives you the nudge in your spirit when an old attitude is trying to creep back in. By relying on the Spirit, you’re plugging into unlimited power, so you can eventually change any unhealthy attitudes into healthy ones. As you let the Spirit renew your mind, you’ll find that your actions and your life’s direction begin to change naturally to lead you closer to God!
Let’s Pray:
Dear God, I’ve often tried to change my life without changing my heart. I admit that I still carry around some old attitudes of bitterness, worry, and selfishness that don’t belong to the person you created me to be. Holy Spirit, I invite you into the deepest parts of my mind. Please renew my thoughts and line up my attitudes with your truth. Help me catch my deceitful desires before they become actions. Today, I choose to “put on” my new self. I want my life to reflect your righteousness and holiness. Please keep my mind focused on whatever is pure and true. Thank you, God. Amen.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema
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Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
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