The Bible talks about a “willingness of mind.” A willingness of mind produces action. The majority of the time all actions are preceded by thoughts, unless one acts by instinct. A person will think about it and then do it.

That is the reason that God stressed to Joshua:

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.
(Josh. 1:8)

He was saying that the meditation should come before action. The thought precedes the action. In other words, think about the Word, meditate the Word, and have a “willingness of mind” to do the Word.

A Perfect Heart & Willing Mind
David told his son Solomon:

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind…if thou seek him he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, be will cast thee off forever.
(1 Chron. 28:9)

You are to serve God with a perfect heart and a willing mind.

In 2 Corinthians Paul was talking about giving and receiving. But he talked about the “willingness” to do it first.

And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
(2 Cor. 8:10-12)

Paul was talking about a willingness of mind when he said to the Philippians, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity (Phil. 4:10). Paul was saying, “You were willing, but you lacked opportunity.”

A willingness of mind is important. For example, when someone prays over the offering in a service, God will speak to your heart and tell you what to do. He does not speak to your head. However, if you do not have a willingness of mind, you will not obey what God tells your heart to do.

Isaiah says, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19).

Action Will Follow Willingness
There is no limitation to a man who has faith in his heart, a right mental attitude, and a willingness of mind. He will eat the good of the land.

If you are a doer of the Word, you are willing to act. In other words, you are prepared to do the Word. The Bible says that a doer of the Word shall be blessed in his deed. He shall eat of the good of the land. You must have a willingness of mind; that is when the action comes.

Many times the airlines put magazines in the seats for the passengers to read. I have notice that often many of them have some kind of “get rich quick deal.” I have read about somebody who made a lot of money and then has tried to explain his secret. The secret is always in bold print. It will jump out of the page at you.

I read one article that said something like this: “You’ve got to be willing to be successful.” Then it said, “The man that only does what he is paid to do, is only paid for what he does.” In other words, if all you do is what you are paid to do, and you are not “willing” to do more, then all you will ever get paid for is what you do.

Be Willing To Do More
That is exactly what Isaiah said: If ye willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.

Many Christians want to do just what they can get by with; they don’t like responsibility. I have noticed that those who carry the greatest loads are also the ones who seem to be the most blessed. The reason is because they are willing.

Many people want to be successful, but they are not willing to do what is necessary to obtain success. Those who carry the heaviest loads reap the greatest rewards.

Once Jesus’ disciples were arguing with one another about who was the chiefest. Jesus answered them, “the chiefest is the one who is the servant to all.” When you have a willingness of mind to be servant to all, then you are going to carry the heaviest loads. But the one who carries the heaviest loads is going to reap the greatest rewards. Peter proved that. He became the servant to every man, and God made him a chief apostle.

Satan causes fear in your heart. He cause you to fear in order to destroy a “willingness of mind.” If he can do this, he can keep you from laying hold upon what God says is yours now.

Faith in your heart, a right mental attitude, and a “willingness of mind” are some of the ingredients for overcoming trials. Begin to develop them now.

Source: A Right Mental Attitude by Jerry Savelle.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International