Ever wonder how different people can respond to the same situation in seemingly opposite ways? The truth is, the lens through which you look at life changes the way you see the world. It’s all about your frame of mind. If you look at life through a negative filter or frame, you’ll always see the worst. But, if you take captive your thoughts like the Apostle Paul calls Christians to do in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, you can start looking at life through the perspective of Christ. This is called reframing.

But how exactly do you change your frame of mind when it comes naturally to you? Today, we're providing you with 3 practical steps to help reframe your relationships and the challenging situations you face.

#1) THANK GOD FOR WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

The first step in changing your frame of mind is to start thanking God for what didn't happen. Maybe something unpleasant happened to you, but there are a lot of worse things that could've occurred and didn't. When you look at your circumstances with a Gospel perspective of gratitude, new things will come to light.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." declares the Lord. "as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

This verse shows us that as Christians, we need to be able to trust that God is working, even when things don't turn out the way you hoped. You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you frame it.

#2) PRACTICE PRE-FRAMING

Next, to reframe your mind, try practicing pre-framing. This means that you decide how you'll look at a situation in advance. For example, if you wake up thinking "I have so much to do today! I"ll never get it done. This is going to be a horrible day," then the chances are, that's exactly how you'll feel. However, when you practice pre-framing, you intentionally decide how you'll look at the situation in advance. For example: "I may have a busy day today, but I'm so thankful to have a job! With God's strength, I know He'll prepare me to have a great, productive day, despite the challenges I may face." So, challenge yourself to look at your circumstances with a positive, faith-filled frame.

#3) LOOK FOR GOD'S GOODNESS

Finally, you can reframe your mind by looking for God’s goodness right where you are. Your mind will always find what it’s looking for - so instead of looking for what’s wrong in your world, look for God at work. Then you will see, even on a bad day, that your God is still good. God is still involved in your life. He still cares. He is working and has a plan for your life! The challenging circumstances you face can still work to advance the Gospel.

In all this, take comfort knowing that Jesus himself is familiar with reframing. Think about how his Disciples must have felt the day that Jesus was crucified. They had no idea that Jesus' death was actually the doorway to Eternal Life! But, three days later, Jesus gave them an eternal frame of mind. Suddenly, they saw that God's plan all along was to bring Salvation to the world through the sacrifice of His one and only son (John 3:16). From then on, God's love and goodness could never be in doubt! We pray that as you change your frame of mind, Christ will reveal more and more of His Gospel perspective for your life!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

To continue learning from Liquid Church's Mastermind series, check out the additional content below:

• ARTICLE: How To Retrain Your Brain. Living in a cycle of toxic thought patterns? Dig out of the rut of negative thoughts and create a new trench of truth. Click here to read.
• MESSAGE: How To Renew Your Mind. Your mind is a battlefield between Satan's lies and God's truth. Learn how to demolish the mental strongholds that hold you back! Click here to watch the video.