Small habits God used to slowly transform the way I think.
We spend a lot of time protecting the things we value.
We lock our doors, protect our passwords, monitor our bank accounts, and install security systems for our homes. We understand the importance of guarding the things that matter.
But how often do we think about guarding our minds?
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
In Scripture, the heart often refers to the inner life—the place where our thoughts, desires, and decisions take shape. That’s why learning to guard my mind became such an important part of my spiritual growth. The thoughts we allow to take root eventually shape our attitudes, our decisions, our relationships, and even our peace.
Recently, I shared one of the most personal stories I’ve ever written. I wrote about the season that forced me to ask a difficult question: Who am I if everything I’ve built my identity on is taken away?
After reading it, several people asked me the same question:
“So…what did you actually do?”
The answer wasn’t one dramatic breakthrough. It wasn’t one sermon, one prayer, or one life-changing moment. Looking back, I can see that God slowly changed the way I thought through a collection of small, ordinary habits. None of them were flashy. None of them worked overnight. But together, they created more room for God’s truth than for my fears.
Guarding your mind isn’t about living in fear or withdrawing from the world. It’s about intentionally filling your life with things that point you toward God’s truth instead of your fears.
These are a few of the habits God used to reshape my thinking—and they’re still part of my life today.
1. Give God the First Word
Sometimes I still catch myself reaching for my phone before I’ve even gotten out of bed. It’s an easy habit to fall into. Before I know it, my mind is already racing with emails, headlines, text messages, and everything waiting for me that day.
I’ve learned there’s a better way.
One of the greatest lessons God taught me during one of the hardest seasons of my life was the importance of beginning my day with Him. Life is simply better when God’s voice is the first one shaping my thoughts instead of the world’s noise.
That doesn’t mean every morning looks the same. Some days I spend thirty minutes reading my Bible and praying over a cup of coffee. Other days it’s a few quick minutes before the day gets busy. The amount of time isn’t what matters most.
What matters is who gets the first word.
I’ve found that when I begin my day in Scripture, I carry a different perspective into everything that follows. My circumstances may not change, but my heart is much better prepared to face them.
2. Make God’s Truth Easy to Find
Sometimes the hardest seasons of life leave you emotionally exhausted. You love God. You want to spend time with Him. But your mind is so consumed with what you’re facing that even opening your Bible can feel overwhelming.
I’ve been there.
During one serious medical crisis in our family, I was simply trying to make it through each day. Even though I desperately needed God’s peace, there were moments when I didn’t have the emotional energy to sit down and read my Bible or even pray the way I normally would. That’s when the simple reminders I’d placed around my home became so meaningful. A verse hanging on the wall. Scripture on my phone’s lock screen. A promise taped to my bathroom mirror. I wasn’t searching for God’s truth—it was already surrounding me, gently reminding me of His presence when fear was trying to become the loudest voice.
That’s one of the reasons I love to keep Scripture visible around my home today. I want God’s truth woven into the ordinary moments of my day, not just the time I set aside for Bible reading.
3. Listen Intentionally
Silence isn’t always peaceful.
Sometimes it’s where my anxious thoughts become the loudest. That’s one of the reasons I’ve become much more intentional about what I allow to fill the background of my day.
During especially trying times, worship music became the soundtrack of my days. I listened to biblical teaching while I got ready in the morning, and whenever I was driving or working around the house, I often had Scripture or worship music playing quietly in the background. I wasn’t always listening closely, but I wanted God’s voice to become more familiar than my fears.
One resource I’ve returned to often during seasons of fear or anxiety is Soakstream, a YouTube channel that combines spoken Scripture with gentle instrumental music. Many of the videos are several hours long, making them perfect for quiet evenings or those nights when anxious thoughts make it difficult to quiet your mind.
I don’t always remember every verse I hear. But I believe my heart remembers more than I realize.
Our minds are always being shaped by something.
The question isn’t whether they’re being formed. It’s what’s forming them.
4. Carry Truth With Me
Some of my hardest moments weren’t dramatic.
They were ordinary evenings after dinner, when the house was quiet and the phone hadn’t rung all day. That’s when my mind was most tempted to fill in the blanks.
“No one cares about me.”
“I’ve been forgotten.”
“I don’t really matter.”
Those thoughts felt incredibly real.
But they weren’t necessarily true.
Instead of letting them continue unchecked, I’d reach into my purse and pull out a small stack of Scripture cards I’d written by hand. I’d read them slowly, reminding myself what God said instead of believing everything my emotions were trying to convince me was true.
The loneliness didn’t disappear overnight, and my circumstances didn’t immediately change. But little by little, the story I was believing did.
(This does not have to be fancy. Handwritten verses on paper or index cards works fine, but if you prefer, you can purchase scripture cards on Amazon.)
5. Write Things Down
Some of my most honest prayers never sounded beautiful. They sounded desperate. My journal became the place where I could pour out every fear, disappointment, question, and frustration without pretending everything was okay. As I wrote, my thoughts slowed down enough for me to examine them in the light of God’s truth. More than once, I discovered that what felt true wasn’t actually true at all. That’s one of the reasons I still journal today.
6. Choose My Influences Carefully
Over the years, I also became much more intentional about who and what I allowed to influence my thinking.
During difficult seasons, I wasn’t looking for books, podcasts, or Bible teachers that simply entertained me. I needed voices that would strengthen my faith, challenge my perspective, and continually point me back to God’s truth. Some resources helped me recognize unhealthy patterns in my own thinking. Others reminded me of God’s faithfulness, gave me hope, or offered biblical wisdom for situations I didn’t know how to navigate. Many of those books are still on my shelf today because they’ve become trusted companions that I return to again and again.
That intentionality spread beyond the books I read.
I began paying closer attention to everything I was allowing into my mind. I realized I couldn’t spend fifteen minutes reading my Bible in the morning and then spend the next twelve hours filling my mind with fear, negativity, comparison, and noise—and expect those fifteen minutes to completely reshape my thinking. Our minds are always being formed by what we repeatedly consume.
That realization changed the questions I began asking myself.
Is this helping me trust God more?
Is this feeding peace or feeding fear?
When I finish scrolling, watching, or listening, do I feel more anchored in God’s truth…or more anxious than before?
I still enjoy entertainment. I still watch the news. I still use social media. This isn’t about avoiding the world or living in a bubble. It’s about being intentional with the overall volume of what I’m allowing into my mind. I don’t want God’s truth to be a quiet whisper buried beneath twelve hours of competing voices. I want His voice to shape my thinking more than anything else.
If you’re looking for a few of the books that have encouraged me over the years, I’ve shared some of my favorites here.
7. Step Outside
Some of my sweetest conversations with God have happened outdoors. Whether I’m on a morning prayer walk, watching the sun rise before the world wakes up, or sitting quietly as the sun sets, creation has a way of lifting my eyes off my circumstances and reminding me that the God who painted the sky is still faithfully holding my life together.
These days, that often happens while riding through a peaceful golf course. Years ago, when I lived in New Jersey, it was hiking wooded trails. The setting has changed, but the lesson hasn’t. Stepping away from the noise and into God’s creation has a way of quieting my mind and helping me recognize His presence.
If your thoughts have been especially loud lately, consider stepping outside for a little while. You don’t have to plan an all-day retreat. Try something simple:
- Take a prayer walk around your neighborhood.
- Watch the sunrise or sunset without your phone in your hand.
- Sit outside with your Bible, a journal, or a cup of coffee and simply enjoy God’s creation.
You may be surprised how much easier it is to recognize God’s presence when you slow down long enough to notice Him.
8. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude doesn’t erase difficult circumstances, but it changes what my mind keeps returning to. Some mornings, I’ll spend my entire prayer walk thanking God instead of bringing Him another list of requests. One thing I’ve discovered is this: the more I intentionally look for things to be grateful for, the more I find. Gratitude has a way of opening our eyes to God’s goodness, even in seasons that are still hard.
If this is an area you’d like to grow in, I’ve written more about how to start a simple gratitude practice and you can read it here.
Conclusion
Looking back, I don’t think any one of these habits changed my life. God did.
These practices simply created more opportunities for me to hear His voice than the countless others competing for my attention. Whether it was opening my Bible before checking my phone, carrying Scripture with me, listening to worship music, or pausing to watch a sunrise, each habit gently redirected my attention back to what was true. Little by little, God’s truth began reshaping the way I thought. Many of these same principles are explored more deeply in my book Take Captive Your Thoughts.
One of the biggest misconceptions I had was believing there would come a day when renewing my mind would be “finished.” It doesn’t work that way. Just as our bodies need daily nourishment, our minds need daily renewal. Every day brings new opportunities to choose fear or faith, lies or truth, worry or trust.
The good news is that God never asks us to renew our minds for the rest of our lives all at once. He simply invites us to walk with Him today.
Then tomorrow…
He’ll invite us again.
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this article, it’s that guarding your mind isn’t about trying harder or becoming the perfect Christian. It’s about making room for God’s truth to shape your thinking day after day. Those small choices may not seem significant in the moment, but over time they become the quiet, faithful ways God transforms us.
I still have difficult days. I still catch myself drifting toward old thought patterns from time to time. But those thoughts don’t have the same authority they once did—not because I’ve become stronger, but because I’ve spent years returning to God’s truth instead of my fears.
My prayer is that, as you continue filling your mind with God’s truth, His voice will become more familiar than every fear competing for your attention.
❤️