A paradigm is a belief or a way of looking at something. It usually includes concepts that you have developed in great detail over the years. If you are driving fast and the car in front of you suddenly stops, your mind instantly responds. You know what is going to happen, so you do not even think about it; you simply respond by your paradigms. But what if these paradigms are speculations that exchange the truth for a lie? Many of us have paradigms about God. “Well, He didn’t do anything last time, so He’s not going to come through for me this time.” There are even ways in which we limit what God can do in each other. You may say, “Well, it’s impossible for me to change.” That does not limit God. For God, all things are possible. We cannot be moved by destructive paradigms, especially about God.
A paradigm can be dangerous if it is wrong. For example, if I am going to relate to you as a prophetic ministry who speaks the Word of the Lord, the first thing I need to do is see you the way God sees you. In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey shared a story about two battleships doing maneuvers in heavy fog. The lead captain was notified about a steady light ahead and ordered that the oncoming vessel change its course. After several exchanges, the Morse code signal came back to him, “Advisable for you to change your course 20 degrees.” Furious, the captain ordered the message to be sent, “I am a battleship. Change your course 20 degrees.” Back came the flashing light, “I am a lighthouse.” So the captain changed his course! He was so convinced about his importance and the power of his ship that he almost ran into the rocks. The way we think about ourselves and each other can be very limiting. As a man “thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). [1] If I lock you into the way you were yesterday, then I am limiting your tomorrows.
The paradigm Abraham had about God was that He could do anything—even raise people from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham’s God was unlimited. I want to have that attitude toward God as well. Yeshua (Jesus) said, “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). So that must become my new paradigm. Instead of yelling at the other boat to move, realize that you need to change your course. Your paradigm will be destructive if you are not careful. Whenever you have a wrong paradigm, it literally acts like a wall to block the impartation of what God has for you. But the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
Tell the Father that you want a new paradigm; you want to know Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). How will that happen? By the transformation and renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). If you see Christ as He really is, you will be changed into His image (1 John 3:2). Memorize the Scriptures, and as you do, the Word will wash your mind of the old paradigms and show you the truth (Titus 3:5). The Spirit of God will renew your mind and transform you into Christ’s glorious image. Moses said, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29). This prophetic ministry is available for each one of us if we can only believe.
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).