How Changing Your Mind Can Change Your Life

The ability to change your mind is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. Sometimes I can’t believe that we get to just choose things using our own free will and then see the fruit of that choice. Then if we don’t like the fruit of that choice or we get new information or new ideas, we change our mind. That  just blows my mind sometimes when I think about it.

weight watchers points

I’ve joked many times before on Instagram and even in some in-person speaking events about how 20 years ago I thought it was a good idea to sign up for Weight Watchers and follow their points program. I don’t even know if they do points anymore, but I remember specifically that based on your height and weight, you would be allotted a certain amount of points that you could eat for the day. And then you could also save and bank points over the whole week. And so I used to do this. This is not recommended or approved, by the way, by any doctor anywhere in the United States of America. Also (this is not solid health advice for human beings and I can’t even believe I’m going to admit this, but…) I used to drink Diet Mountain Dew. I would eat baked French fries, smoke Marlboro Lights, and then I would save a majority of my points for the weekend for shots–as in…alcohol. We’ve come a long way baby, indeed. 

no one is beyond hope

So this is something that really demonstrates the miraculous, am I right?! When the Lord provokes somebody to change her mind and embrace new thinking, anything is possible. Truly, anything! I want to encourage you today that if you’ve laid down your peace…if you’ve thought to yourself that you’re beyond hope or that someone you love is beyond hope. If you’re thinking you’re just past the point of a change of mind and a change of heart, the first step is to believe that change is possible. The subconscious mind is a powerful tool and it is always at work whether you know it or not. I want you to get your hopes up. I want you to have anxious expectation that people are one positive decision away from choosing better ways and changing their lives. I thank God I changed my state of mind about health and made a positive change. It was totally ironic that I was recently invited to speak at a health conference and as I was taking the stairs up to the stage, I thought to myself this is hilarious that I’m here.

Twenty years prior to me stepping on that stage to talk to people about health and wellness products, I was not healthy. I was not well. I was not any of those things. But it was because the Holy Spirit had pricked my heart and asked me to lay down my thoughts about food and about health and the way forward and how to take care of my body in ways that were beneficial for me with the right mindset. I was able to make steps in that direction and eventually make big changes. I no longer subscribe to the things that I was subscribing to 20 years ago. 

are you in hiding?

I also want to speak to the person who has been hiding a little bit because you want to change your mind, or even better, you have changed your mind, but you haven’t told other people the position or different view you now that you take. You’re in hiding. Instead of celebrating the ability that God gave you to change your mind, you’re hiding in secrecy and saying I actually don’t want anybody to know that I changed my mind because I feel like I was supposed to stay in this box forever. Or maybe you even said This is what I believe, this is what I think, and this is where I’m staying. This signals a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. 

It’s really part of the human experience to change your mind about the hills you’re willing to die on. It’s not a sign of weakness to admit that you now have a different perspective. Now let me be very clear. I am not speaking of things that are in the Bible where God is very clear like gender and marriage. He is very clear about sexual morality. He is very clear about the Ten Commandments. So I’m not speaking of evolving away from the scripture.  

there will be an impact on others

Sometimes when you change your mind, it’s going to hurt someone else’s feelings or change their plans. This can be one of the reasons that people resist changing their minds. This is so difficult to navigate with loads of negative thoughts and negative self-talk prevalent. You really need God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to wade in these waters very gently and tenderly when you understand that your change of mind is going to impact someone else’s life. 

Let me share an example. A long, long time ago, before I was married, I lived with a man. During that time, I changed my mind. I decided I wanted to live a life of righteousness. It became very important to me to live a life pleasing to the Lord. I had hoped that he would join me in this different way of life, but he was not interested. I remember him looking at me and saying, “I will never be the man who prays with you at dinner and I will never be the man who goes to church.” My decision from there was very clear–we had to part ways because I wanted to follow the Lord. I wanted to honor the Lord and living with a man that was not my husband was not God-honoring. This major step in my spiritual growth was one of best things I’ve ever done, but it didn’t come without consequences. He was very mad. He was very confused and it was very disruptive. Sometimes changing your mind disrupts other people. But that doesn’t mean that you should not proceed. Especially when it comes to honoring the Lord with your life and with your next moves, right? There will be consequences for a mind change, but that doesn’t mean that the gift of changing your mind is less important. If anything, it is very important to understand that it is a gift to be stewarded. The way that we steward things really well is by going to God’s Word and having a solid Biblical foundation for our decisions and our direction. Then we also rely on the Holy Spirit.

thinking a new thing

I see so many people either afraid to make a decision or afraid to let people know what decision they’ve made. They’re afraid to let people know how they’ve changed their mind. And this hesitation, this fear, comes from a place of not wanting to ruffle feathers or make people feel uncomfortable about their own decisions or choices. New insights and new thoughts will be met with resistance, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong or should be swept under the rug. 

Please don’t lay down your peace about this. The reason I am heralding the good news that God gives you the ability to change your mind is that it is a gift. You have not been sitting around flippantly thinking about this and just doing whatever you please. You’ve thought about it deeply, you’ve thought about the consequences, and you didn’t arrive at this decision easily. Changing your mind is a gift, but it’s actually hard work, too. It means that a change of action will follow (or should). Letting go of old beliefs that either aren’t God-honoring or just don’t serve you will improve the quality of your life, but it will point others to Christ more importantly.

the blueprint

Your ability to worship God was the ultimate change of heart and change of mind and it was initiated by God himself. Realigning with the Lord, repentance and giving God rule and reign and dominion over our life is all about change.  Changing your mind is part of that blueprint and it’s going to happen many times in your life and other people are going to feel uncomfortable by it, but that’s okay.

Change of mind is going to bring you into some awkward conversations, but that is okay. Again, you are allowed to change your mind. Steward this gift. It is a gift. Feel the weight of that responsibility. You’re not making decisions flippantly. You’ve asked for wisdom and that’s how you know you’re going in the right direction. 

remember this

One point in conclusion, though, is that everybody has a different timeline. I know people who are still smoking Marlboro Lights, drinking Diet Mountain Dew, and eating baked french fries as part of their health regimen. But guess what? They could change their mind tomorrow. Everybody’s timeline is different. Everybody’s season of repentance is different. Sanctification is tailor made and the Holy Spirit designs it according to what a person can handle.  

an audience of one

If you’re feeling silly about changing your mind, let me remind you about humility. Humility is always the way forward. Repentance literally means to change your mind and realign with God. If God was working on you and did all your sanctification in one day, you would drop dead from the weight of how much you need to repent from. Instead, he does it in small steps. Repentance is what we are called to do all the time. So the next time you feel bad about changing your mind, I want you to remember you’re playing for an audience of one. You’re the one who has to stand before the Lord and give an account for the things that you decide in your life.

Remember, changing your mind and choosing a new direction is a gift. Can you believe that God designed us with free will? You could go and destroy your life tomorrow with recklessness and rebellion. You could just do it. You could do whatever you wanted. Isn’t that crazy to think? And yet here you are wanting to honor the Lord, wanting to serve Him, wanting to worship Him, wanting to seek Him, wanting what’s good for you because of Him. That is amazing. That is the definition of true worship and true love. The fact that you would choose to love and serve God and to choose to repent and to change your mind to realign with the Lord is an act of worship and reverence. 

I want you to pick up your peace today and stop worrying about what others are going to say. I want you to understand that the essence of Christianity is the invitation to change your mind. And if you got anything out of this blog, I would love for you to share it with a friend. You can find more at leslieburris.com. Thank you for reading, friend!