The Battle for the Renewed Mind

May I just be honest about what I am struggling with right now? Well, it’s not just right now… it’s really all of the time!

It’s my thoughts.

They ensnare me and I am left dangling, seemingly helpless, waiting for my enemy to finish the job.

I fear that God is not who He says He is… I forget that I have been made righteous because of Jesus and that I am now the daughter of the King… I feel alone and unwanted by anyone, desolate…

The list goes on.

And with every one of those thoughts, those lies, roots are dug down deeper into my heart, threatening to keep me tied down—trapped—until my mind is filled only with lies. Every fruit blossom ever to have budded in my heart is choked by these roots and withers up into nothing.

Sometimes the thoughts aren't negative, though. Sometimes I daydream about a handsome man who pursues and saves me, the damsel in distress, and then we build a forever together in a little home in the middle of nowhere. We sit on the porch in our rocking chairs and drink sweet tea out of mason jars while watching our kids run around in the yard, dig in the dirt, and live out their own little adventurous fantasies. I look over and smile at him and the look in his eyes makes me weak in the knees, because it whispers, “I love you more today than when we said our vows.”

But as beautiful as that picture is, thoughts of it can also be a deadly poison, disguised as a sweet nectar. You see, these sweet thoughts can become an idol in my heart, and an idol is someone or something that makes false promises of satisfaction and fulfillment… lies. Now, I am not saying that every single daydream that you have is bad… we were designed to desire beauty, especially in relationships. But when those daydreams become more desirable than Jesus, that’s when they are a problem.

These thoughts far too often occupy my consciousness and keep me from focusing on where God has me right now. I become discontent, and discontentment leads me to those more obvious deadly thoughts that I mentioned earlier. So what is there for me to do?

Fight.

Romans 12:2 is a charge to believers. It states to “not be conformed to this world, but BE transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” When I first read that I was thinking, “How in the world is my mind supposed to be renewed? Clearly ‘be’ is a verb, but how do I allow it to take action in my life?” I knew that I needed to be actively doing something to fight, I just didn't know what to do or how to do it. So, I had to use a little bit of deductive reasoning.

What is the battle that I am fighting? Being trapped by lies.
What defeats lies? Truth.
What is Truth? The Word of God.
What is the Word of God? The sword of the Spirit.
What do you use a sword for? To fight.
What kind of person fights? A warrior.

Every believer is in a war of the mind, and we all must fight! In fact, it is essential that we do, lest we be fools.

"Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26), "for the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6).

Claiming my identity as a Warrior Princess for the Kingdom of God was strange at first... but ya know, I can't let the men have all the fun ;)

 ***Side note: Ladies, we have to give up the idea that battling is only for men; women can carry swords too AND learn to fight with them!***

I began with making a list of the typical lies that I believe and then, I found Truth to combat them (I like to call the verses my "sword swings" that I use to sever the lies that have taken root in my heart so that I am no longer bound by them).

Now here's the hard part... I have to actually remember those verses whenever my mind is under attack, or whenever my heart begins to long for a husband more than Jesus.

Oh, and under attack is right! My mind is constantly under siege "for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). But I have the power to defeat the lies of my flesh and the enemy because "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" and I have been commanded to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

God designed our brains in such a way that our neurons have memory and they remember the typical thought pathways that we carve for ourselves. BUT GOD also gave us sword swings, enabling us to re-route those pathways of lies to Truth! How amazing is that?!

I absolutely LOVE how my Commander in Chief gives me such hope! He tells me that not only can I fight, but I can fight well... well enough to be free from all of the traps set before me because I know the Truth (John 8:32)! For this I am grateful: Truth does not change based off of my thoughts and feelings.

We can all have the confidence to step out onto the battlefield, claiming the territory for the Kingdom because of THIS sword swing:

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

PRAISE THE LORD!!! He has prepared us, armed us, girded us with strength, is renewing our minds... and now we must fight the good fight.

So, dear brothers and sisters, "be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13).

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Words.

Words.

We use them every day. We think words, hear words, speak words, sing words, write words, and read words. We use words to communicate joy, anger, confusion, love.

Words are so important, so valued, that our Creator used words to create. He could have thought "let there be light" and there still would have been light. 

But He didn't. 

He spoke, and that is how the world came into existence. 

In Genesis chapter 1,the phrase "And God SAID" is repeated nine times as He is creating. And then this is where my mind gets blown, EVERY time... God created EVERYTHING through Jesus.

Let me explain. John 1:1-3 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that has been made." 

Let's replace each occurrence of "the Word" and all of the pronouns with "Jesus," of Whom these are referring to, and see if that ties all of this together.

"In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Jesus, and without Jesus nothing was made that has been made."

Then Satan slithers onto the scene and with him the pending Fall of man. 
What is the first thing that Satan does? He speaks. 
And his wicked words are in fact designed in such a way to call into question the very words of God Himself.

Oh, but wait... God doesn't stop there with the power of the Word. No, He then goes on to allow His Spirit to breathe words into various authors who wrote down the words of God, which we have now come to know as the Bible. 
And the Bible isn't just "some book." No, it is a story! The complete story of Redemption, to be exact.

John 1:14 says this, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." 
Who was it that became flesh and dwelt among us? Jesus. 
So then we have, "And Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us."

Wow.

God actually gave us His Word. Both in written form and in the flesh
to inspire and to atone; 
to encourage and to redeem;
to challenge and to sanctify;
to convict and to love.

Justin Taylor, in the book The Power of Words and the Wonder of God writes this:

When God's Son eventually enters human history as the God-man, He lives by God's Word (Luke 4:4), keeps God's Word (John 8:55), and preaches God's Word (Mark 2:2). The Father gave Jesus words, Jesus gave them to His followers, and His followers received them (John 17:8). Jesus' words are inseparable from His person and thus can be identified as having divine attributes.

What I'm getting at is this: words are powerful. The way that we speak can bring both life or death (Proverbs 18:21). 

As I have been studying about the Word and writing this, I have been so convicted of my own poor use of words; I have used words of anger, malice, slander, jealousy, pride, gossip, judgment, and condemnation. The Word has rebuked me and reminded me to listen before I speak (James 1:19), because my rash words are like a sword swing (Proverbs 12:18).

But the amazing part is this: while I have just been rebuked by the Word, He has also reminded me that the Word has already atoned for all of my wicked words.

WHAT?!

That right there is proof that God's words create, confront, convict, correct, and comfort. By His words He both interprets and instructs.

At every single stage in Redemptive history--from the time before time even began, to when God created the universe, to the fall of man, to Christ's birth and redemptive work on the cross, and to the coming consummation--God is there and He is not silent. And He has left us His Word to fight the battle that we face every day to believe the lies of both our flesh and the enemy that, once again, tell us we don't need God. That is why the Word is also called the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17); because we are meant to fight with it!

I am praying for you, whoever you are, and I am praying for myself 
that we will readily recognize the war of words that we are facing.
that our words will bring life, just as God's words have done and continue to do. 
that we will speak words of encouragement, hope, love, peace, unity, instruction, wisdom, and grace.
that above all, we will cherish the One True Word, and then hide His words in our hearts.

Would you pray with me?