MANY PEOPLE ARE familiar with the Bible story of the prodigal son. Usually we hear the pigpen version. The son leaves home and ends up in a pigpen. He decides to go home, and his dad accepts him back.

I don’t believe the prodigal son woke up one morning and suddenly thought, “I’m going to ask Dad for my inheritance and move out.” No. There was a process that led up to him leaving.

You see, every action starts with a thought. The way you think affects the way you are and how you live. You can change your life by changing how you think.

Isaiah 55:8–9 (NKJV) says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

These verses are an invitation to live on a higher level. But what if you’re not thinking higher thoughts? How can you better yourself if your thinking is lower than what it should be?

Many things can affect your thought life. But a powerful influence comes from the people you surround yourself with. You will be like those around you. Unfortunately, some Christians think they can surround themselves with the world and still be okay.

I’ve found that when people get away from the Word, they have trouble acting on it. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing (Rom. 10:17). And so does everything else.

When you hear the Word, you’ll act on the Word. If you don’t hear the Word, you won’t act on it. If what you are hearing doesn’t line up with the higher thoughts God wants you to think, then your actions will be worldly.

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The key to thinking higher, godly thoughts is to renew your mind. That means reading your Bible, meditating on what you’ve read, and then doing what the Word says.

You can tell if you’re full of God or the world if you accidentally hit your finger with a hammer. What’s on the inside will come out. For instance, if you squeeze an orange, what comes out? If you squeeze a bunch of grapes, what comes out? What about a Christian? What comes out when they get squeezed?

That’s why Christians sometimes react the same way as non-Christians when they unintentionally hit their finger with a hammer. Whatever you’re full of comes out.

Do you want to change your life? Then start with your thoughts. You have to quit thinking what you’re thinking and start thinking about what the Bible says about you. The Bible says you are more than a conqueror in Christ (Rom. 8:37). You are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath (Deut. 28:13). God always causes you to triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14). If you have a loser mentality, you can change that by constantly thinking on these scriptures.