For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:5-8 5
If you are in Christ, you must no longer live in the flesh but rather in the spirit. Living in the flesh cannot please God because God is spirit. There are rules to follow whenever you visit an authority figure on earth. There is specific clothing you cannot wear.
There are certain words you cannot say. You must be dignified if you want to please an earthly king or queen. There is a particular kind of language that you must portray to be able to affect a person in power to do something for you. This language is not limited to what you utter, but it entails all the things you come with as you are presenting yourself to this earthly authority.
For example, if you want a king to give you something, you must present yourself in the best possible way by bringing along sacrifices, gifts, and riches that are consistent with that particular king’s language. Otherwise, you will not be able to please them and in turn, get what you want.
As a Christian, your life must reflect the spiritual language. You must live in constant spiritual communication with God. You must cast away all carnal desires and ways of thinking if you want to please God and get the gifts he has made available for you.
You must not see things in the flesh as everyone else sees them, but you must be on a different spiritual level that reflects a heavenly life and can help you see things through God’s eyes rather than through your physical shortcomings and weaknesses.
” Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.“
Colossians 3:2–4
Living in the spirit on earth means letting the word of God be your lamp. When the word of God is your lamp it sees through all spiritual and physical darkness. There is a difference between spiritual darkness and night. Physical manmade lights can see through the night but only spiritual lamps can see through spiritual darkness.
Spiritual darkness manifests itself in your earthly life through death, destruction, envy, loneliness, self-doubt, crippling depression, sickness, failure, and all things the devil uses to blind us to the love of God. When you live in the flesh, your mindset is a physical one.
You tend to deal with spiritual darkness using physical means. This simply cannot be possible. There are people who go to dark priests for help when they face spiritual darkness. This is like fighting the devil using his messengers. It cannot work. When your mind is of a spiritual nature, it means that you deal with the problems in your life that are caused by spiritual darkness using God’s lamp.
So when everyone is seeing failure for you at the moment, you see glory in the future because your language is not of a carnal nature. Spiritually-minded Christians are not moved or discouraged by what they see at the moment, but they are excited by what is to come because of the lamp of God which opens their eyes to see beyond spiritual darkness.
Those who live in the flesh cannot see beyond the problems they face because they are in darkness themselves. In Christ, God’s word shines a light before you that helps you focus on the glory ahead and not be swayed by what is happening to you now. In the spirit, you are not ordinary so there are things you must be aware of and change if you want to succeed in Christ.
6 Mindset Shifts That Will Make You Successful
Change your words
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18
If you are the kind of person who likes to talk down to everything and assume all things work against you, then that must stop right now because in Christ it is simply not true. Do not forget that the word was created through the commandments of God.
His words moved his spirit to create everything that we see. Now that you’ve been admitted into the likeness of Christ you must realize that your words contain so much power now. Your words can create and destroy. Change your language to one that builds up and encourages.
When things start going wrong, build them up again with your comments. Do not succumb and conform to the bad language of this world. Say things like ‘I will succeed, it will work out, I will not die, I will make it, things will change for the better because I believe in Christ Jesus.’ Your life will conform to the nature of your utterances.
Remove Fear
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4.
If you were previously shaken by every little thing that went wrong for you that must change now that you are in Christ. In Psalm 23, David acknowledges that there are times when things look bleak and dark for him but in those times he has no fear in his heart because the rod and staff of God comfort him.
Your spiritual life must not leave room for fear but it must focus on the presence and the love of God. Knowing that God is by your side and holding your hand should mean that no matter what darkness or testing times come your way, you must be courageous and peaceful in your heart knowing that all is well and will work out for you in the end.
Fear must be a thing of the past if you want to be successful. Don’t be afraid of the challenges ahead but be encouraged by the lamp of God you hold.
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Doubt no more
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Matthew 21:21
Do not doubt. In Christ, there is no doubt. Look into the future that the Lord has prepared for you and be convinced in your heart that you are heading there. Doubt comes about when little things happen to knock our faith.
Seeing others fall and fail around you may have caused you to doubt yourself and the Lord in the past but you must change that mentality if you want to succeed. The road to success may be long and winding but it doesn’t change in the Lord.
You just need the courage to keep walking on it and never turn back no matter how many crashes you see along that road. You must never waver in faith. Trust the Lord in all you do and never turn back when things get difficult. This should be a new mentality you must carry with you always.
See your victory already
“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”
Genesis 17:17
As already shown, the road to your victory is already cleared in God’s eyes. Your future victories and glory have already been determined and written by God. In the verse, he was showing Abraham and his wife their future victory but they couldn’t believe or perceive it.
You should know from now on that there are no limits to God’s blessings, so you must receive them wholeheartedly and with courage when he wants to give them to you. Envision your victory and count it as your own.
Keep your eyes on your destination and never be swayed by what is happening now. See yourself already victorious and move towards that reality because God always honors his promises.
Never give up
For no word from God will ever fail.
Luke 1:37
As discussed already, God’s word is your lamp. Not giving up should be your mindset from now on. Once you know what God has said about you and your future, never feel like you can’t reach your potential because the word of God is true and absolute.
For example, when you know a friend you trust has left something valuable hidden for you somewhere, your motivation to overcome every obstacle just to get to that thing will depend on the trust and belief you have in that friend.
When you don’t trust them you will not have the will to get to it because you will think it’s not worth the hustle. Well God has placed something valuable along your journey in the future and since God’s word is powerful and true, you cannot relent in getting to what is promised you. Make sure you have the mindset of defiance in every endeavor.
See beyond the problem
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:27
It is very common for people to start looking left and right for solutions when they hit an obstacle in life. It is mostly because they are trying to compete with someone or showboat to people. In Christ, there is no fear. It doesn’t matter if you think things are getting too serious or not, have the mindset of always seeing what’s ahead of the obstacle.
Never feel like you have to resort to evil to be able to carry on. You must always try to please God and not deviate from his path for you. There will be curves and bends along the way but you must strive to see what is ahead all the time.
Because the times when people normally think about giving up or turning to evil to solve their problems are normally the moments they miss out on the lord’s ultimate blessings and if they had taken a few more steps forward, they would have found their victory. Do not forget it’s always darkest before dawn.
