Vision for a Transformed Life

David W Palmer

(1 John 3:2 NLT) “… we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”

(2 Corinthians 3:18 TPT) “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Perhaps our mind-renovation needs to focus on one room at a time. If we renovate the kitchen first, for example, we can then live there and provide wholesome nutrition while the other rooms undergo their renewal. In our spiritual life, this could mean completely renovating our thinking where healing is concerned, receiving it through faith, and then moving on in renewed health to renovating our: loving relationships, forgiveness, servant-attitude, humility, dream fulfilment, financial freedom, evangelism, effective ministry, guidance, overcoming fear, operating miracles, etc.

How do we completely renovate our thinking in these areas? We need to find Scripture passages, teachings, phrases, or verses that speak directly to our situation. We use God’s word to disclose the areas of our thinking that don’t line up with it; these are thought patterns where the enemy has set up a stronghold.

(Mark 4:24 NKJV) Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure (of heed-taking) you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” (Parenthesis added)

Next we need to “take heed” to these passages of God’s word—pondering them, meditating on them, muttering them, singing them, confessing them, and praying them repeatedly. No one can say how many times we need to apply this approach. All we can say is that we need to persist in it until an assurance is birthed in our heart that what God says is true; we need to persevere until the seed of God’s word comes to harvest. Jesus revealed how this kind of harvest is evidenced:

(Matthew 12:34b–37 DKJV) ”... out of that which fills and overflows from the heart the mouth speaks. (35) A good man, out of the good treasure collected in and overflowing from his heart, sends out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure sends out evil things. (36) And I say to you that every idle, nonworking, unproductive word (rhema) that men say, they will give account for it in the Day of Judgment. (37) For by your words you will be shown to be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (pronounced guilty).”

(Luke 6:45 DKJV) “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

We can see from what Jesus said in these two passages that when we have renewed our mind sufficiently, we will know because we will hear it in the overflow of our hearts coming out of our mouths.

God did not intend his word to be a will-power challenge, forcing us to comply by sheer resolve or fear. No, God’s word is spiritual food and mind-renewing material. It truly is the mind-renovator’s “delight.” The psalmist confirms in Psalm 1 that God wants us to view his word as a delight:

(Psalms 1:1–3 DKJV) Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law he meditates day and night. (3) He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.

So, to recap, what does it take to renovate the mind? First, we need the vision; we need to see an overview of life with a renewed mind—what it will be like, what we will look like to others, how we will relate with pure love, and achieve our entire God-given destiny. How do we get this vision?

A friend of mine came back from a major revival in another country. I asked him what it was like. His answer was enlightening: “I saw God in his holiness, and I want to be just like him.” The divine vision gave him the desire and motivation to pursue what he saw—holiness, which his flesh would not otherwise desire nor achieve; but holy vision made it longed for and possible. God’s word attests to, and clarifies, this “vision-first” approach:

(1 John 3:2 NKJV) “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

(See also 2 Cor. 3:18 above)

When we see him, we will be like him:

(1 John 3:3 NKJV) “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Seeing him in his holiness is clearly a powerful motivator for wanting to be pure and holy. How do we see God like this? We can see him in his word, in worship, and in prayerful encounters; we can also see him in his creation, his attributes, and in born again people who are living by faith and walking in the spirit.

Today, begin by focusing on seeing God in his holiness. Meet with him in his word; meditate on Isaiah 6, for example. Visit his holy throne in worship. Watch for him showing through others who have his holy attributes. Ask him to reveal his holiness to you.

When you really encounter God in his holiness, like my friend, you will want to be just like him. Then, with this energising motivation, you will have a ravenous appetite for his word and promises. Begin devouring them—one scripture at a time—to build his truth into your deepest inner being, until you hear it coming out of your overflow. When you do, you will know that you are being transformed by the renewing of your mind and the faith-filled confessions overflowing from your heart. You will be underway to changing from glory to glory:

(2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV) “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”