Winning the Battle in the Mind
God designed the mind for memory, to control the body’s subconscious physical functions, to think, reason, discern, learn, and grow. The Bible offers insight into the way God designed our minds and how He can transform our thinking, enabling us to make positive changes in our habits and choices.
Take Every Thought Captive. To overcome the continuous pattern of negative thoughts, we must first learn how to refute them. When you listen to thoughts, do they match up with the truth of God’s Word? Second Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Release Condemning Thoughts. Thoughts that are judgmental in nature are destructive and reinforce the negative conclusions and assumptions we establish about ourselves and others. We are exhorted to avoid condemning attitudes by admitting our own failures and experiencing God’s forgiveness for our lives. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus.”
Realize You are Powerless to Change on your CAN Change through Christ’s Power. We must admit that we cannot make the necessary changes on our own. Through prayer, wise counsel and applying these biblical tools, we can discover that God can change our minds, attitudes, and negative habits. Philippians 4:13 says, “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Renew your Mind. Our negative thought patterns have been developed over the course of our lives. We begin to transform our minds by learning and meditating on the truth of God’s Word. We must recognize that our thoughts are influenced by the things we read, watch on TV, and hear on the radio. Our mental renewal begins by choosing to spend time in prayer and Bible reading daily. We can begin to make good choices by removing those things in our lives that negatively influence our thoughts. Romans 12:2a says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Think on These Things. It is not enough to remove the negative thoughts; we need to replace them with Godly thoughts. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.”
