How to Win the War of Our Mind

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3 years ago

The ancient philosopher Socrates once said: "Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people." There is an ongoing battle in all of our minds. Every thing we think, every impulse we have, and every act we carry out begins in our brain.

King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, wrote: "As he thinks within himself, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7). In plain words, you are what you think.

The soul is our mind, our will, and our emotion. Those yelps of happiness, the tears of sorrow, and the comfort of joy emanate from our soul. And so does anger, hate and deception!

Decisions

All of the major and minor decisions we have made and will make began or will begin with a thought. We thought about what we would like to pursue educationally speaking and did it (or are still thinking about it). We thought about the person we admired and wanted to follow in their footsteps, and we thought about a certain individual as a partner and pursued a relationship.

In the same way, minor decisions also begin with our thoughts. Hmm, what should I eat today? What will I wear today? What will I write about on read.cash next? What posts will I read and which ones will I skip?

The battle

Since we are what we think, it should come as no surprise to us that the Devil, yes, that ancient serpent who was present in the Garden of Eden, desires to gain a lot of influence over our lives. The main way he accomplishes this is through our mind.

Both God and Satan influence our minds. That is comforting to know if we think godly thoughts! Speaking through the Apostle Paul, God 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 excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8, ESV).

There it is! It's plain as day.

Desires

One of the foremost ways we are influenced by Satan is by way of our desires. We want this or that; we want to hook up with a certain individual; we want to become rich; we want to watch an exciting Korean drama; we want to watch porn; we want to seek revenge; we want to gossip; and we want to (fill in the blank). You see where I am going? We all have desires and they are not all good.

Our operating system

We can imagine our mind as an operating system in a computer or smartphone. The operating system in these devices allows us to do certain things: email, text, play games, watch videos, read websites; get on social media, and so on.

It also does not allow us to do other things: there are limitations. For example, we are unable to download every movie or popular song on our hard drives. But one thing is certain: there is no programmer or engineer or even an algorithm in China or Silicon Valley or Google that is telling our computer (brain) what to do or what not to do in real time. This is because our respective computers (brains) have already been configured with an operating system from God.

Defective

Like our computer or digital devices, we sometimes unknowingly pick up a virus or malware. The latter is especially inevitable. Our soul is the same way: we have definitely been infected with a virus called sin.

We inherited that sin at birth from Adam and Eve (not Adam and Steve). So whenever God says, “You shall,” our immediate thought is, “I will not.” We already have that defective operating system (our sin nature) inside of us. This means the Devil doesn't have to directly speak to us to influence us.

Recall what Paul said: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:14-15, ESV). Recognize the battle here?

Winning the battle

When we become a believer in Jesus Christ by faith alone (not by works), God puts in all of us a new operating system. This is our seal of salvation - the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives us an entirely new set of thoughts and desires. Therefore, if God says yes to something, we agree with Him and want to say yes; but when God says no way, we also want to say no way. 

Our minds are a constant battlefield of conflicting thoughts and desires. Look: "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want" (Galatians 5:17, NIV).

Let's think and desire the things of God today, tomorrow and going forward rather than the things of this present world which is passing away. Those of us who have the indwelling Holy Spirit know what to think and desire and should heed the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Conversely, those who do not have the new operating system need a new one: the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.

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3 years ago

Comments

Gird up the loins of your mind! -1 Peter 1:13

$ 0.01
3 years ago

Precisely! Thanks for stopping by.

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3 years ago

Thank you, that's a nice read before I go to bed.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

Oh, you're most welcome. Sleep well!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Alguien dijo que tenemos no sólo cinco sentidos sino 8, además de los cinco que normalmente conocemos se agregan el alma, el cuerpo y el espíritu pero creo rotundamente que las grandes batallas se ganan o se pierden en la mente , por eso el campo de batalla siempre será nuestra mente y debemos renovarla cada día con la palabra de Dios , porque como dijo el proverbista somos lo que pensamos y de acuerdo a eso así actuaremos. Bien fuero dichas aquellas frases maravillosas del apóstol Pablo cuando dijo: Pensad siempre en lo bueno... Bendiciones!

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3 years ago

In any situation our mind always thinks which one is correct. But, only god helps us to get right path. Beautifully completed your article. Nice,,

$ 0.01
3 years ago

Thanks. Wisdom reveals to us the right and wrong choices.

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3 years ago

Yeah all discussion is very true.. Ur own thoughts matter much more than others surrounding people...if some one think positively then he attract positive Vibes

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3 years ago

It is about making the right decisions - the good ones, the right ones. That is the essence of wisdom.

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3 years ago

Our lives are a true spiritual battle. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).

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3 years ago

Thanks for this article. I believe we should also intentionally renew our minds withe Word of God, and shut down every contrary system consciously

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3 years ago

Thanks for the comment, Jerry. I try my best at the prompting of the Holy Spirit to shut down every thought contrary to God's word on a continual basis.

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3 years ago

That is one cool analogy. I really like the way you put it all together. Bravo!

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3 years ago

Thanks, Sir Razor. Nice of you to stop by and read again.

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3 years ago

Always welcome.

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3 years ago

It's true we need the Holy Spirit Always it is yhe one who convics if we should that things

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3 years ago

Yes, but He not it. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead.

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3 years ago