“And no one puts new wine into old wine skins; or else the new wine will burst the wine skins and be spilled, and the wine skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wine skins, and both are preserved.” ~Luke 5:37-39
What if new wine = a new mind?
When I returned home after attending the Isaiah 61 conference, my mind was exploding with new thoughts. New ways of thinking. And saw this world through a new lens: His Kingdom.
It was as if everything was suddenly clearer and the colors more vivid. Like when Dorothy left her childhood home and opened the door to the Land of Oz for the first time.
I was overflowing with fresh revelation, knowledge & wisdom. Walking in a deliverance which had shaken off hindering spirits and operating at a pace & level unlike any I had previously experienced.
And then the battle began…the battle for control over my mind.
Old ways of thinking, patterns of thought, were fighting hard to keep residency in my mind. But I had returned with a new wine, a new mindset, and therefore, I needed a new wine skin.
If I went back to my old ways of thinking, the old mindset which was really full of half-truths & doubt in God’s word, the new wine skin (mindset) the Lord had gifted me during the conference would be ruined.
So little by little, day by day, the Lord began to help me see that the power of His Kingdom is just a thought away. It’s in our minds. Our mindset. And our thoughts. Which is why He tells us to take every thought captive.
“We demolish arguments & every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”
~2nd Corinthians 10:5
As the days passed after the conference, my old way of thinking was at war with the new thoughts, the truths, which had been planted in me. The season after the conference was spent overcoming this battle.
But as we know & read, God is faithful. And He has continued to reveal with each small battle that He has already overcome the bigger one.
Before attending the conference, my thoughts centered more around doubt than faith.
Is He really going to do that for me?
Is He really going to come through again?
Is He really willing to receive me for the 100th time…?
But the truth is what is written: “I am your fortress [psalm 18:2], your stronghold in times of trouble [psalm 9:9].” “I will rescue you from every snare of the enemy [psalm 91:3].”
The question we need to ask ourselves is: how much do I really believe that?
Do I really believe God will make a way in the wilderness?
Do I really believe God will protect me from a deadly disease?
Do I really believe He loves me unconditionally?
Or will provide in times of despair?
These questions can really cause us to see some ‘truths’ lurking in our mindset that we may not want to admit.
How much do I really trust Him?
How much do I really believe Him?
How much do I really turn to Him?
When I came back from spending a week at a conference which focused on spiritual warfare & deliverance, I knew His truth. But the longer I was away, the more the doubt of that truth began to try and occupy my thoughts again. Something went wrong and I might think: Lord, are you pulling away from me?
But the truth is, He is always near. He is always present. And He loves us more than we could ever imagine this side of Heaven.
Walking in those truths is the journey — the journey we are all on to come to know Him, to turn to Him and to give our full selves to Him.
He is His word.
And our job is to begin believing it. To walk it out. To trust when everything seems to be going wrong, He is still causing it to work for our good. To seek His comfort. And keep His truths in our mind.
The next time doubt comes whispering into your ear, take that thought captive, bring it to the Lord and tell the spirt of doubt to leave in Jesus’ name.
From His heart to mine, to yours….
Amanda
