s-t-R-ength Zone
It is not just my desire but God’s desire for everyone to live in the “STRENGTH ZONE” of life while on this earth. The third component needed to get to the zone and operate in power is to RENEW our minds. The word renew means to make extensive changes; to restore; to begin something again with more force and enthusiasm. We have to change the way we think which in turn will change our actions.
By now if you read the Back 9, you have read many times that an action is always preceded by a thought. In Romans 12:2 it states, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the RENEWAL of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The great thing about renewing your mind is that it is not left up to you by yourself. When you SURRENDER completely to Christ and you TRUST Him, then you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life to change the way you think. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you….” And John 14:26, “But the advocate the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
God has a good, perfect and pleasing will for everyone. Too many times in my life, as I have headed into the Back 9, do I see firsthand people who are in “quicksand” in life. Stagnant, unfulfilled, and lost because they are flowing with the world and its enticements, thinking that is where the “pot of gold” is found for their fulfillment and happiness. It is never too late to redirect or renew your mind and thus renew your life.
In my own personal life, the last 6 years have been a “renewal of my mind”. I have been a Christian since the age of 9, but life, busyness, etc. clouded my mind and took me out of the “strength zone,” the purpose for which God had created me. I cannot explain adequately in words how renewing your mind to Christ and His plans can truly electrify enthusiasm and force into your life. The power of the Holy Spirit is felt when you don’t quench it! For me it took going on a hunt to seek it out–purposely getting up earlier, sitting quietly before God, reading His word, listening to sermons online during the week–not just going to church on Sunday. It was time spent in prayer and desiring to again be in that “Zone” I had experienced but felt I had stepped out of at some point.
I love the story of the evangelist, Joyce Meyer. Her life was one of sexual and emotional abuse. Just google her name and read about how she accepted Christ and surrendered to Him. For more than 30 years now, she has been operating in her “STRENGTH ZONE.” You can google the testimony of Zack Johnson, PGA tour player, or that of Tony Dungy, former NFL coach and winner of the Super Bowl. I know I am throwing out famous names but there are tons of people you can find who aren’t “nationally famous” and they also operate in their God-ordained “strength zone.”
I can just look in my neighborhood. Cindy Snell is a local eye doctor here in Columbia. She is not only our neighbor, she is our eye doctor. She has 4 children and several years ago her husband dropped dead after mowing the lawn. For years I have watched her practice medicine, raise a family, bury her husband and now, endure the flood in South Carolina. All the while she has lived a surrendered life to Jesus, operating in her “Strength Zone”. I have personally witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit in her life through the hardest of times!
Renewing your mind comes with an attitude of the will and a desire to change the way you think. This is harder than you think. It takes discipline to “take every thought captive”. The great news is this, when you surrender and trust, you then have a supernatural power, the Holy Spirit, who comes into your life and enables you to do just that, renew your mind. The best place to daily start renewing your mind is God’s word, reading and then applying it to your everyday life. God doesn’t require perfection; He only requires intention followed by our action. Allowing your mind to be renewed will put you on the road to God directing you in relationships, job, and everyday life, providing the strength and comfort HE desires and created all to have.
God desires you to have a life lived in your anointed Strength Zone:
S-urrender your life.
T-rust Him.
R-enew your mind.
The first 3 steps to the ZONE!!!