A Pure and Innocent Mind

*Living in the Spirit Series*

One of the most important things we must learn as believers is how to think with God.

It is possible to have a sincere heart toward God while still having a mind that has been conditioned by fear, disappointment, suspicion, and negative experiences. Many believers are easily offended, easily irritated, suspicious of people, and quick to expect something negative.

This kind of thinking can become a serious hindrance to faith.

We often emphasize having a pure heart, and rightly so. But we must also learn to have an innocent mind—a mind that has not become so conditioned by life that it automatically expects the worst.

Jesus said:

*"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."* — Matthew 18:3

Childlike thinking is not childish thinking. It is not ignorance or intellectual weakness. It is a mind that trusts God without allowing limited understanding to become the boundary of what God can do.

**A Mind Conditioned by Life**

Our environment can shape the way we think.

Past disappointments can teach us to expect disappointment again. Being hurt by people can make us suspicious of everyone. Repeated failure can make us afraid to believe again.

Eventually, we may begin interpreting everything through the lens of our past.

Instead of seeing possibilities, we see problems. Instead of expecting good, we expect bad. Instead of believing God, we begin calculating everything according to what we have experienced.

But the believer must learn to renew the mind.

*"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."* — Romans 12:2

A renewed mind does not deny reality. It simply refuses to allow reality to become greater than God.

**Believe the Best of God**

Having an innocent mind means learning to believe the best of God.

When something happens, don't immediately assume that God has abandoned you. When a door closes, don't conclude that your future is finished. When you cannot understand what God is doing, don't conclude that He is doing nothing.

A childlike believer can say:

*"Father, I don't understand this, but I trust You."*

This is the beginning of learning to think with God.

We must not only ask, "Is my heart pure?"

We should also ask:

*"How am I thinking?"* *Is my mind filled with suspicion, fear, and negativity?* *Or am I learning to see life through the character, Word, and promises of God?*

The mind is an important part of our walk in the Spirit. God wants not only a pure heart but also a renewed mind—a mind that is innocent before Him, free from unnecessary suspicion, and willing to believe that God is good even when circumstances are difficult.

**God Still Has His People**

A mind shaped by disappointment and negativity does not only distort how we see God—it can also distort how we see the state of the world around us. It can make us feel isolated, as if evil has completely overrun everything and no one else is standing for God.

Elijah felt this way. After his great victory over the prophets of Baal, fear and discouragement gripped him, and he told God he was the only one left who served Him. But God corrected that perception:

*"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal."* — 1 Kings 19:18

Elijah's mind, conditioned by fear, could not see what God could see.

The same thing happened with the Apostle Paul in Corinth. Discouraged and possibly considering leaving the city, Paul received a word from the Lord:

*"For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city."* — Acts 18:10

Despite the wickedness and idolatry surrounding both men, God had reserved people for Himself—people the natural eye, or a discouraged mind, could not see.

This is what an innocent, renewed mind allows us to perceive: not the absence of evil, but the presence of God's ongoing work, even where we least expect it. A conditioned mind sees only the darkness. A renewed mind trusts that God is still doing something, even when we cannot yet see it.

**A Mind That Shapes Destiny**

The way we think does not stay confined to our thoughts—it flows into how we live, how we pray, how we relate to people, and ultimately, how we walk out God's purpose for our lives.

This is not to say that whatever will be, will be, regardless of how we think. God's purpose is not fulfilled automatically, apart from us. He has called us to partner with Him, and the mind is one of the places where that partnership happens.

A believer whose mind is conditioned by suspicion and negativity will struggle to receive the very things God is trying to give. Fear will make them hesitate when they should step forward. Suspicion will make them withdraw from relationships God intended to use for their growth. Disappointment will make them abandon assignments before they come to pass.

You cannot fulfill a purpose your mind has already disqualified you from believing.

This is why the renewing of the mind is not a minor spiritual exercise—it is central to walking in God's purpose. God's plan for your life requires a mind that can receive it, trust it, and move forward into it without being held back by the residue of past pain.

An innocent mind is not naïve about life. It is confident in God. And a believer who learns to think this way positions themselves to walk fully into everything God has called them to be and do.

**Reflection**

What past experiences or environmental influences have conditioned me to expect the worst?

Hassan Thomas Nenger Author, *My Divine Identity as the Righteousness of God* Living in the Spirit Series.