The mind is the intellectual and mental faculty of a person that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons. The mind alludes to a person’s morality, reasoning, and understanding. In fact, the mind is not a physical organ that can be touched or seen. Our mind is intangible but responsible for abstract thought and emotion.
That notwithstanding, the mind is the ruler and director of the body. What the mind reasons or thinks about is what the body reacts to. What we perceive in the mind is what we take into action and reality—if there’s no change of mind.
Scripture confirms this by saying that “what we think about is who we really are.” Solomon said, what he thinks is what he really is (Proverbs 23:7 GNT). The thoughts and inclinations of the heart move into our minds and are taken into action, whether negative or positive. The King James Version of this same Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
So undeniably, the pictorial thoughts we have or the things we reason about in our minds are what we produce and bring into reality or practice—whether good or bad. In other words, we are largely a product of our thinking. What we think about becomes us.
Dearly beloved, it is for this reason that I am writing to you—to know how to carefully deal with your mind and respond to it when it requests negativity. Follow me as we delve through scriptures on this subject and learn together 👇🏻.
Many people—and for that matter, Christians—are having a great battle in their minds because of the nature of the flesh, which, when fed, brings them into a level of carnality. Paul said, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:5). This means those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, and such people do not have peace of mind but a battled mind filled with guilt and reproach daily. Their conscience is captured, and they no longer think and reason from a spiritual perspective.
Apostle Paul said, To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. “In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:15-16).
Sin and disobedience ruin the mind and darken it to reason negatively. When one’s mind is bombarded with sinful or evil thoughts and consequently acts on those thoughts, the devil begins to fill the mind and conscience with guilt and low self-esteem. The soundness of the individual’s mind will be battled and troubled by the devil and won’t have the peace and joy that come from the Spirit of God. Such a mind becomes hostile to God and will not be able to audibly hear from Him because of how bombarded it has become with guilt and worldliness.
The Bible clearly gives emphasis to this in Ephesians 4:17-19:
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 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. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”
So it is clear that those with such minds have no spiritual sensitivity, and their understanding of God is darkened (2 Corinthians 4:4).
HOW CAN ONE OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE?
Because the mind sometimes conceives evil thoughts (James 1:14-15), it is therefore expedient that every believer daily feeds his mind with positivities through the study and meditation of the Word. As Paul said in Philippians 2:5, we will begin to have the mind of Christ because Jesus is the Word, and the Word contains the mind—the breath—of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
Secondly, it is imperative to set our minds on things above (Heavenly-minded). Colossians 3:1-2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
How can we consciously set our minds on things above? By spending quality time with God in prayer and seeking His face regularly to intoxicate the flesh and weaken evil desires, which can make us worldly and carnal.
Lastly, we must be careful with the kind of communication and conversations we engage in. What we hear or the information we feed on can pollute our minds and give room for negativities or wrong motives. The Bible says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).
In other words, every conversation we find ourselves in must be fruitful and make us spiritually minded.
When this is done, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our minds and consciences (Philippians 4:7). We will always have a fruitful and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Our spiritual sensitivity and antenna will be connected to God—we will hear His voice, dream good dreams, and even receive deeper revelations from Him.
May the Lord touch and visit every battled mind now and give him/her liberty in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Elder David Gyamfi (PENSA Ghana Prayer Secretary)
