Post 3
Helpful Articles
Mindset Traps
https://community.thriveglobal.com/6-most-common-mindset-traps-and-how-to-avoid-them/
Verywell Article: Excellent explanation
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025
Recap: Posts 1 & 2
Post 1
In the first post, we examine the fixed versus growth mindsets. John 6 shows how the original audience misunderstood Jesus’ words regarding “eats my flesh and drinks my blood” analogy. I explain how the early Anabaptist believers develop the concept of believer’s baptism in response to the cultural norm of baptizing infants.
Post 2
We examine the fixed and growth mindsets of Peter in proclaiming Jesus as Messiah followed by his rebuke to Jesus concerning the suffering messiah and his bold proclamations in Acts 4. Peter’s mindset regarding Gentiles and the Gospel grows as well in Acts 10.
Post 3 focuses on the pyschological and social aspects and impacts of mindset. God’s sovereignty and personal relationship with His shapes our mindset through the process of spiritual growth.
Kendra Cherry, MS, a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator explains mindset as: (emphasis mine)
“Your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. It means that what you believe about yourself impacts your success or failure. Mindsets can influence how people behave in a wide range of situations in life. For example, as people encounter different situations, their mind triggers a specific mindset that then directly impacts their behavior in that situation.
Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025
Remember Peter and how he hesitates to accept Jesus’ coming suffering and death! His mindset and concept of messiah was influenced by his cultural understanding of the messiah. From this viewpoint, the messiah would be the following:
Messianic ideas in Judaism A.I overview with references for each statement
In the first century, people expected the Messiah to be a powerful figure who would establish a kingdom for the Jewish people. The term “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew word mashiach, which means “anointed one”. [1, 2]
Expectations of the Messiah [1]
- A warrior-politician-king who would rule over the people
- A great priest who would interpret the law for God’s people
- A divine being who would destroy those who opposed God and establish a new kingdom
Messianic ideas in Judaism [1]
- The Messiah would overthrow the enemies of the Jews and establish Israel as a sovereign state [1]
- The Messiah would bring about a peaceful kingdom where wolves and lambs lived together [3]
- The Messiah would bring about a transformed society where the brokenhearted were bound up and liberty was proclaimed to the captives [3]
Jesus and the Messiah [1]
After Jesus’s death, it was difficult to convince Jews that he was the Messiah because he was the opposite of what the Messiah was supposed to be. Today, all the main branches of Judaism maintain that Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah. [1, 4]
Generative AI is experimental.
[1] https://ehrmanblog.org/the-jewish-messiah/
[2] https://www.cdamm.org/articles/early-jewish-messiahs
[3] https://catholicjournal.us/2022/03/15/the-jewish-and-christian-understandings-of-messiah/
[4] https://jewsforjesus.org/jewish-resources/messianic-prophecy
The cultural expectations of messiah prevented many from recognizing and following Jesus. What expectations or cultural influences impact your thoughts on following Christ?
Image: Choosing to welcome the light of a new day, finding warmth in His presence
Growing your Mindset
Kendra Cherry offers the following ideas in how to “unfix” a mindset:
- Focus on the journey. An important factor when building a growth mindset is seeing the value in your journey. When you’re fixated on the end result, you miss out on all the things you could be learning along the way.
- Incorporate “yet.” If you’re struggling with a task, remind yourself that you just haven’t mastered it “yet.” Integrating this word into your vocabulary signals that despite any struggles, you can overcome anything.
- Pay attention to your words and thoughts. Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones to build a growth mindset.
- Take on challenges. Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn.
- Embrace challenges instead of avoiding/fearing them.
- Source: “What Mindset is and Why it Matters”
Mindset: Subconscious Thoughts
Over the past few weeks as I’ve been reading and reflecting on the mindset topic, one thing stands out. Mindset is a choice! We choose what we give attention to in our lives. We choose how to react and respond to challenges. One factor that impacts our mindset is our subconscious thoughts.
Caroline Mills explains:
“Our subconscious is formed from our memories and experiences. These memories and experiences determine our adult behaviour and our conscious mind is fed information from our subconscious whether we realise it or not, and is what provides us with the significance in all our communications with the world.”
Source: “How our Subconscious Mind Informs our Conscious Mind”
Caroline explains a five step process for developing and reinforcing a positive “thinking attitude”.
https://www.thechangespace.net/articles/how-our-subconscious-mind-influences-our-conscious-mind
To understand our thoughts and reactions, it’s vital to consider past interactions, memories, and experiences. Asking yourself the “why” question when emotions emerge empowers reflection and inner healing.
Do you find yourself becoming annoyed, aggravated, or angry when someone speaks to you using that “tone” or certain words? What sights, sounds, or other environmental factors impact you?
In my healing journey, I consider how reactions and emotions are directly influenced from negative past experiences. Seeking to heal from past emotional and verbal abuse requires awareness. Working with a trauma specialist to identify and process triggers significantly improved my daily life.
One practice that has assisted me is the resentment and fear list/guided reflection. A mental health professional can work with you and provide this resource. There are multiple “worksheets” and guided writing prompts that help. It’s vitally important that you are working with a licensed, experienced professional who can guide you and help you as difficult and troubling emotions will emerge in these exercises!
*Disclaimer: this author is not a licensed mental health professional. I share my personal experience(s) with you the reader with the understanding that my posts are not intended to be serve as advice, treatment, or take the place of seeking treatment with a licensed, mental health provider. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, etc. require appropriate treatment from medical/mental health professionals. I share experiences and insights to encourage you in your journey!
Growth and Healing
Changing your mindset from a fixed to a growing set requires daily work. One mindset that is difficult to escape is a “struggle” mindset. As someone who has walked through relational, career and job failures, ministry rejections, and trauma, the struggle mindset best describes my fixed mindset.
Growth and Healing is a Journey, a Process
Working to grow in mindset is a daily journey! Some days will be better than others. Circumstances or work situations “trigger” our core wounds from past negative experiences. Cyndi Bennett explains a path forward for work/boss related triggers:
https://cptsdfoundation.org/2023/09/07/my-boss-triggers-me/
I include work in this article because most people with full time jobs spend numerous hours at work! When a person feels powerless, trapped, frustrated, etc. at work then it will certainly impact mindset! Work can be an positive. When you feel energized by helping others solve problems, make a difference, etc. then work can contribute to a growing mindset.
Struggle Mindset
Sen explains struggle mindset:
Disclaimer: Sen writes about manifestation, a new age concept based on the book The Secret. However, Sen correctly defines the struggle mindset and shares valuable insights on it’s root cause(s). It’s helpful to recognize truth and insights even when coming from a perspective that differs from your own.
Sen explains:
“It’s not easy to let go of the attitude of struggle, it seems to be ingrained deep in our minds mostly due to the conditioning we received during our childhood and our limited perception of life. We seem to place a lot of trust in our mind’s fear-based, and lack-based, thinking because that’s the only voice we are privy to until we have the courage to let go of it.
Sen identifies the root of this mindset:
“The mind gets pretty rattled at the notion of giving up its fear-based movement, it comes up with a lot of – “I have to survive, I have a family, I have bills to pay, I have to fight it out” and if you sense the energy of these thoughts it’s rooted in fear, anger, bitterness and hatred, and of course your reality will be a reflection of the same when you are rooted in this pattern in the mind.”
How we create our reality by our mindset:
“When you see everyone struggling around you, it’s very natural to feel a fear towards letting go of struggle. Your mind is bound to conclude that struggling is the way of life, it almost becomes a very strong belief. This belief then attracts a reality onto it, a reality of struggle – and then you use it as an evidence to support your belief that life is a struggle. However, the reality was created due to your focus on this belief, and not the other way round – if you believe in something, you will manifest the evidence of it, this does not mean that what you believe is true, it just means that you tend to create what you believe.”
What we believe impacts our reality. I don’t agree with the new age of concept of “manifestation” of thoughts and changing reality.
Why manifestation isn’t biblical: Got Questions explains:
First, what is manifesting?
“Manifesting typically involves three key practices: visualization, affirmation, and positive thinking. Visualization is the act of regularly picturing one’s goals and dreams as if they have already been achieved. An affirmation is a positive statement to reinforce belief in achieving those goals. Positive thinking is maintaining an optimistic mindset to attract positive outcomes. According to proponents of manifesting, positive thoughts and visualizations can influence reality and attract success, health, and happiness. It is about harnessing the power of the mind to create a destiny.”
The issue is seeking to create meaning and attract success and happiness through our actions instead of through God. This is a form of idolatry–seeking to manipulate spiritual forces or improve self to provide personal benefits. The key faith issue is the attempt to manipulate instead of trusting, depending, and seeking good things in Christ. Positive thinking isn’t evil in of itself when we seek to focus on the good things instead of the bad things. It becomes an issue when it used to manipulate ourselves or others for personal gain apart from Christ.
How and why is this not aligned with God’s Word?
“Despite the popularity of manifesting, it is incompatible with biblical Christianity. The Bible teaches that the human will is subject to God’s will, not the other way around. While positive thinking can influence emotions and reduce stress, the concept of manifesting, as related to the law of attraction, lacks a biblical foundation and promotes a pantheistic view of God. Those who seek to “manifest” something reduce God to a universal energy force they can manipulate with their thoughts. This concept contradicts the biblical idea of a sovereign and personal God.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/manifest-manifesting.html
If we can think our way out of our mindset, then do we need God to guide us? God reveals Himself through His Word as being a God who is involved in the lives of ordinary people. Examples include Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, King David, and many others. God cares about us as individuals and sovereignly works through the events, failures, and trials of life to reveal Himself! How does God’s sovereignty impact our daily lives?
https://www.gotquestions.org/sovereignty-of-God.html
If we can change our reality through our own efforts, the who is the God of our lives? In a practical sense, this is how a person chooses self fulfillment and the things of the world over Christ. This manifesting has come into numerous spiritual teachers who claim to follow and proclaim Christ.
It turns the focus from Christ and trusting Him into a self-improvement plan that emphasizes personal beliefs and “name it and claim” false teachings. What happens when you suffer loss because you show integrity or trust in God instead of taking the path opposed to God’s ways?
The name it claim belief system is an unstable platform for faith. Faithful, decent God loving people die every day from cancer, acts of violence, or accidents. Is a lack of faith the cause? Or is it that we all will face death, disappoint, and suffering in our lives because of the fallen nature of ourselves, others, and the world?
When considering this issue, a good start is found in Job and Joseph’s stories:
Closing Quote
“When we understand how powerful God is and how much He loves us, we can know we are secure in Him. As the objects of God’s sovereign love, we allow God to define us and give us our worth rather than look to the changing ideals of the world to do so. When we understand that God is in complete control, we are freed to live our lives.”
Trusting in God frees us from the fixed mindset. Trusting and seeking Him to grow and shape us is the answer to remaining stuck in life!
“We need not fear ultimate failure or final destruction (Romans 8:1). We need not fear worthlessness. We can be confident that God will have His way and that it will be good. We can trust that the One who says He loves us is fully able to act on that love in all ways. We can trust that, even when the world seems completely out of control, God is in control. We know He has the big picture covered, so we can trust Him with our daily details.”
He holds us firmly and no one can snatch us out! John 10.
Source: “How Does the Sovereignty of God Impact My Daily Life”
Words of Grace & Hope 