What trials have you faced or are you now facing that pose a battle for the control of your mind? Is it a serious illness, the grief that accompanies a serious loss, a deep disappointment with how life has turned out, a continual longing for satisfaction that always escapes you, or a temptation you can’t seem to escape? Each of these and others affect the way we perceive and respond to our circumstances. Unattended and unresolved, they influence how we perceive ourselves and lead us to question our very identity and how we perceive and respond to others and to God.
This is the spiritual battle for the mind. It is a battle we will each fight all our life. But although we enter the battlefield each day, it is not God’s intent that we are defeated by it. On the contrary, although we won’t fully escape the battle until he calls us home to heaven, he equips us to overcome the battle while we live now. He desires us to experience victory and abundant joy each day, even as we face our battles.
But if we ignore or neglect the tools God gives us to fight the battle, we bring even more distress to our minds, and confusion that prevent us from experiencing victory over the struggles that confront us. In absence of relying on God, we trust in our own abilities or we wallow in self-pity, so consumed by the wounds we experience, we find no strength to seek the healing touch of the great physician.
What are we to do in such a daily and life long struggle? First, we need to remind ourselves that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood…but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) Your fight is not with your spouse or child or coworker, it is against evil forces that war against healthy relationships. If we want to live a victorious life, we must be aware of this reality so we can be vigilant of the real dangers before us. We have to know the enemy before we can defeat them.
Second, we have to equip ourselves with God’s tools for surviving the battle. How foolish it would be to walk into a real battlefield without protective armor. “Put on the full armor of God.” The armor includes truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the Word, and salvation. (Ephesians 6:11-18) “Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Let’s not idly walk into minefields unaware of their danger.
Third, we have to renew our minds daily. “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Romans 12:2 “Put off your old self. Be made new in the attitude of your minds. Put on your new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) “The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)
The daily battle may rage on. Trust God and you will be able to stand firm, and victorious!