I am in flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago and watching a girl who appears to be about two years old sitting on her daddy's lap. I've had fun just watching her. She is curious and inquisitive about everything from the TV screens that dropped from the ceiling to the earbuds her dad was wearing. Nothing seems to escape her attention and she has to know the how and why of everything she sees and hears. Her mind is just a sponge. All of this got me to thinking about the wonder of the human mind. I believe that our minds are wonderful gifts from God. They are the means by which we process the world around us just as this little girl is doing now. It is the mind that enables us to make choices which navigate our way through life based on this information we have gathered. It is the mind that releases amazing creativity and color to our lives. It is also with our minds that we perceive God’s truth and if we accept and live by that truth we are transformed as we allow the Holy Spirit to renew our mind.
With all this in mind, it should be no surprise, then, that our minds are also strategic targets for Satan. In fact, the mind is the spiritual battleground if you will. When the enemy has his way, our minds harbor debilitating doubts, embrace lies which cripple and stall our lives as we entertain false affections, and rationalize sin.
One thing I have discovered is that this battle within our minds becomes especially strong when we make the decision to pray. We find ourselves saying things like "I'm too tired. I’m unworthy. This is useless; God would never listen to someone like me. God doesn’t care. I don’t feel anything so I must not be spiritual enough." This is where we need to be relentless with the truth of who we are in Christ. You see, we really can win this battle with our minds. Through Jesus' victory on the cross and by the power of His Spirit, we have all the spiritual weapons we need to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
I wonder... how are you using your mind? So many Christian people fill their minds with useless or pointless information that they suck from the mind numbing television screen. Others fill their minds with gossip and all the drama they can find. I have to wonder, what would happen if we really applied ourselves to the admonition of thinking on things that are true, pure, holy and righteous? I'm convinced that people will make their decisions based on what they have filled their mind with. It's your mind; what are you going to do with it?
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