Be Transformed

"Do not be conformed any longer to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

When I read this verse, I get excited by the thought of "being transformed by the renewing of my mind." I think that this is a continual process. My life is a continual transformation. My goal and my hope is that I am transforming into Christ. This is what the being an active, growing Christian is.
So how does this process work according to this verse?
First, we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world. God's ways contradict the world's ways. "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." Isaiah 55:8-9 We need to seek God for our wisdom. It doesn't come from other people or popular culture like books or television.
Next, we need "renew our minds." How do we do this? By earnestly seeking God's wisdom through the reading and studying of his Word and consistent and continual prayer.
According to this verse, the result of doing this is the ability to discern what God's will for our lives is. To be honest, sometimes I struggle a bit with this. I am confident that I am, for the most part, traveling down God's narrow path. The direction that my life is going is what God wants for me to do His will. But sometimes, I struggle with the unknowns. I feel like there is something else out there that He has in store for me and my family and it is just out of reach. I can't quite see what it is. I find this exciting and frustrating at the same time. Frustrating because I fear that I am missing something that God is trying to tell me - the direction that He is pointing. Then I doubt whether or not I am truly renewing my mind. Perhaps I am just caught of in this world's thinking and it is blinding me to God's will.
But the greatest reward for his effort is being in the will of God. As this verse describes that it is "good, pleasing, and perfect." True happiness is being in the center of God's will.