Winning the Battle of the Mind

04 Feb Winning the Battle of the Mind

The role of the mind has either been undermined or completely misunderstood in our spiritual lives and effectively in every area of our lives. Some have no clues as per what is happening and others are so set in their ways that anyone not thinking like them is not correct.

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV). I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV)For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

What goes on in our minds determine what decisions we make. The thoughts we allow can practically determine the outcomes of our lives. Whether we are happy, joyful, expectant, depressed, sad, have low expectations, etc., they are all dependent on the content and structures in our minds.

We need to discuss our minds in the area of content, structure, and impact.

Content refers to what we have exposed our minds to. Positive or negative inputs go a long way in the healthy use of our minds or otherwise. Structures in our minds are determined by our nature, nurture and culture. This is how we process thoughts and analyse experiences we go through.  Certain things have had great impact on our minds beyond our comprehension. The mind has been conditioned by the many things we have been through and how we interpreted them to ourselves.

If we look at a child below the age of five, we see a mind that seems to not believe in impossibilities. The child has not been trained in fear of failure, or rejection so he/she attempts things that are seemingly impossible.

Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the body and soul had gained ascendency over the spirit of man. Christ came to restore us back to how God created us as spirit beings, having a soul and living in a body. There are laws that govern every realm of our existence: the natural, mental as well as spiritual realms are all governed by God’s laws found in the bible. We were designed to use our minds to think and not to be dominated by the thoughts that jump into our minds. Those thoughts take advantage of the structures built into our minds and hence we interpret those thoughts with an air of finality as if they cannot be changed.

You are not your mind. You can reject any thought and not act on it. Your mind is not necessarily aware of the authority you carry in Christ. Unless you have retrained your mind in the Word of God, it does not respect, many times, the authority you have in Christ. It can permit thoughts that have no bearing on your new creation status in Christ.