Our minds are an intense field of war, where the most strenuous fighting often occurs, and the most tiring effects take us to low places. Some Christians are more prone to struggle with this than others and there are many ways in which we can get off track (e.g. one Christian may struggle with pride and another with worry). How should we approach our thoughts as we live our Christian walk?
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5
Do you ever feel like your thoughts have taken you captive, not the other way around? Like you’re a prisoner in your own mind? Striving against walls and chains stronger than anything in the material world, more tormented by your own thoughts than if you were locked in a physical room?
Or perhaps you’re having an annoying nagging, the temptation to let your mind wander or entertain thoughts that are unhelpful or even sinful?
Good news: this isn’t a hopeless war (although it is a war). We have control over our thoughts and the Holy Spirit is more than willing to help us in this struggle as we surrender it to Him.
The “inner you”
The mind/heart (essentially your “inner self”) is where we sort out all our emotions, thoughts, intentions and desires. And our hearts and minds, since we live in this corrupted body of sin, are tainted as well. And we wrestle with all sorts of inner conflicts.
The Bible tells us that out of our hearts and minds comes sin. We are human and in this present life, we will always struggle with sin. Paul the apostle, one of the most mature believers who ever lived, said this:
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. – Romans 7:21-25
Our enemy has designed lies to deceive us and distractions to lure us away from God – he cannot tell the truth, since he is the father of all lies (see John 8:44). And he will tell you any lie you are willing to accept, the ones that are obvious and the ones that slip in almost without us noticing. That’s why it’s so important to “take captive every thought” and see if it lines up with the gospel and character of Jesus.
Guarding the “inner you”
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23
Our human hearts/minds are dark from the moment we enter this world, due to the sin nature resident in us all. Unbelievers continue in this darkness since they have not turned to the light of God’s truth – they have not chosen to let the light in.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. – Ephesians 4:18
When we trust in the Lord, we are no longer walking in darkness. We have chosen the way of light and God Himself desires us to walk in that light more and more every day. We receive the Holy Spirit, and He makes the truth understandable to us even though we are still “flesh and blood”, still with a sin nature. He lives inside us and shows us the truth in a way that we previously could not see or understand it.
13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 2:14
This does not mean that we automatically know all the amazing truth God wants us to know. We still have to be taught – by reading the Bible, by listening to good Bible teaching, and living out the truth in our daily lives – and the Holy Spirit is the One giving us understanding as we live in faith and trust in God. To make our thoughts obedient to Jesus, we need to know and trust the thoughts of Jesus.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of 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
Our humanity is quick to follow the patterns of this world – we find ourselves caught in the traps of pride, greed, selfishness, gossip, anger and a host of other sins. As Christians, we are called to stop those patterns and adopt new, Spiritual ones. We will never be sinless this side of eternity, but we can certainly walk closer to Jesus every day, seeking to renew our minds. This process starts in our minds/hearts (where we choose to believe what the Bible says) and when our thinking starts to line up with God’s thinking, so should our actions.
As in water a face reflects the face,
So the heart of a person reflects the person. – Proverbs 27:19
We need to be very careful about what we allow into ourselves. What we allow to dominate our thinking or what we dwell on. If we are falling prey to a sinful thought process or action, we should consider what God says on the matter, disregarding our personal feelings or emotions. The sooner we put our thinking and actions in line with God’s, the more trouble we will save ourselves – in natural consequences as well as any divine discipline that might be coming our way if we refuse to repent.
Sometimes we experience inner turmoil that is aggravated by our enemy, since he opposes our spiritual growth and likes to “hit us where it hurts”. In those situations, we need to take up the “shield of faith” and surrender the fight to the Holy Spirit, trusting that He will help us. Stand firm on the truth and not allow ourselves to be shaken, even when we’re getting attacked where we are the most vulnerable or it is the most personally distressing, trusting that God will not let anything that we can’t handle come our direction.
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:16-17
This is a hard war and often our flesh will put up a hard fight, especially when we are trying to follow the Holy Spirit. Don’t get discouraged! God sees you and knows what you are going through – He will rescue you through the truth as you continually trust Him.
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 2:11-16
Understanding God’s Perspective
God has graciously given us many gifts to help us understand Himself – and we should make use of these and thank God with joy!
- The Complete Bible
Our first and most vital source to understanding God is the Bible. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and so it perfectly reflects the mind and character of our Lord Jesus. Even in the case of the Old Testament, where the humanity of our Lord Jesus had not yet been revealed to us as He is in the New Testament, since God does not change (see Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17), we can rest assured that the entire Bible is consistent just as God Himself is consistent. There are just different ways God has guided His people and, of course, we do not have perfect understanding of God’s ways (Isaiah 55:9), so any seeming inconsistencies are a result of human error and misunderstanding.
- Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is vast and amazing. The Holy Spirit is the One responsible for helping us understand and remember the Truth we have chosen to accept. Not only that, but He is actively helping us in our walk day by day. If we are walking after the Holy Spirit, we will be led into the Truth.
- Pastors and Bible Teachers
God has equipped certain men within the body of believers to serve in this capacity. They are responsible for teaching the Bible, explaining God’s Truth to other believers, and shepherding the flock (see John 21:17). That is a huge responsibility. In our current time, there is a concerning amount of apathy towards the Bible, both in those teaching and those listening. We should closely examine the teaching of anyone from whom we are willing to get Biblical instruction. A Bible teacher who is correctly serving God will make Jesus and the Bible the true focus (not extrabiblical works, or men and women, or a special building, etc). Let us make sure we are seeking out Bible teachers who are committed to teaching the Bible in depth and accuracy, and also committing ourselves to the task of listening to and learning the Bible with a willing attitude. If the correct Biblical mandate is fulfilled, pastors are not teaching their truth – rather God’s Truth. And we are not accepting their words – rather God’s Word.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. – Romans 13:14
We are told not to set our minds on the past or the future, or the things of this world, or our fleshly desires, but on the things of eternity and our Eternal God. When our minds and hearts are set on the truth, this world and its desires pass away, and we hold tightly to our eternal perspective – ever seeking to live more and more with the mind of Christ.
8 My heart says of You, “Seek His face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek. – Psalm 27:8