Have you ever played the game tug-of-war? Our mind is constantly in a game of tug of war.
You watch a movie, your mind thinks fearful thoughts. You are tugged left. The Word of God offers your mind peace the next morning. You move right. You are worried and anxious about a doctor’s visit. You are tugged left again. You fear that you’re not enough and you will not succeed. You are pulled further. A believer prays for you. You move right some. We are either moving with God, or we tug against Him.
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” (Matt. 12:30)
What thoughts tug you away from God?
Take a “Thought Inventory” by asking yourself:
What emotions are driving me?
Are you filled with the peace of God that guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, or do you always feel on edge? Are you pursuing God’s will for your life, or is the world making you strive to do more, be more and have more things? Are you full of joy, or are you stressed and burned out? What is causing you turmoil?
Are my thoughts resulting in actions that release the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control)?
Our thought life determines our whole life. Thoughts form actions that create reactions. Reactions, repeated, make up habits that directly impact relationships and the whole course of our life. Some turn to God and are led by the Holy Spirit; others turn to numbing antidotes, such as entertainment, alcohol, drugs, avoidance techniques, adultery, a defensive spirit, porn, worry, or anxiety – and are led into the depths of sin.
What is pulling our mind left or right matters greatly. Why?
What Controls Your Life Controls Your Mind
“For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.” (Romans 8:5 AMPC)
Before a thought even forms, either our flesh or the Holy Spirit is moving. The flesh pulls us left, or the Holy Spirit guides us right into the fullness of life that God has for us.
What is the aim of your life? Is it to walk with God? Is it His will be done? Is it to further love? Is it to encourage others? Or is it to seek your goals? To boost your ego? To be more, do more, and make more money? Is it to pursue convenience and comfortability?
Thoughts are founded either by the Holy Spirit or by the flesh. This is why I try to start my day in the Word of God; I pray when my mind is idle; I think about giving thanks when I am about to get into self-pity. I do this so I don’t act hostile toward God.
“…the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.” (Romans 8:7 AMPC)
Think about someone who is hostile. They are so opposed that I imagine them about to fight. Do we want to come at the Lord Almighty this way?
There is another alternative.
When we are “controlled by His desires,” we “set our minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit.” We get out of our minds and into the Mind of Christ.
The first tip to get out of our mind is to know: What we put into our mind matters greatly.
What we put in comes out. Just the other day, I was on Facebook. I kept reading dissension and controversy. After I set down my phone, my son talked to me. My response was agitated and annoyed towards him. Why? Not because of anything he had done but because of the stress that I had just taken on from online discussions.
What are you putting into your mind?
For instance, are you surrounding yourself with gossiping and negative people? You will think of gossip and negativity then. Or are you surrounding yourself with people who pursue love? You become like the company you keep.
Are you watching entertainment with demonic undertones, or are you consuming messages of life from His Word?
Are you filling up on news that stresses you out? Or, are you spending time with God on a walk or in the quiet of your house?
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jeremy Perkins
Decide to Pursue What Matters Most
The second tip to get out of our minds is to keep our mind on the most important thing.
Think: Our mind cannot be fixed in two places at once. Which one of you can think of two thoughts at the same time? We will either be in flesh or be in the Spirit of God. We only have so much mindshare.
What percentage of your mindshare pie has thought fixed on God?
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isa. 26:3 NLT)
The more we think of Him, the more we stay in perfect peace.
Although I explain in far more detail in the book, “Take Every Thought Captive,” the specific battle plan on how to walk out the process of taking thoughts captive and empowering this habit in your daily life – a high-arching truth is: if we set our mind on God, the course of our life will follow suit.
How can we do this in practical ways? We can give thanks for the little things in our day – the sun, the piece of cake, the smile from our husband. We can pray continually, recognizing our great need before the Greatest Savior ever. We can remember and ponder scripture and speak it over our life. We can journal or take a walk with God. The opportunities are endless. But, we must make a choice to do these things.
Yield To God
“For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.”
The third tip is: yield to God.
The devil and the flesh are not victorious; Christ Jesus is. We are always on offense, in Christ Jesus, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Scripture tells us, “We have the Mind of Christ.” This is not a measly thing; we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).
Infilled, with the very Word of God and his mind that guides, instructs, and leads us, even in our thoughts (which do include feelings and purposes of His heart), we are led in all His ways.
This is not a small deal; it is a huge deal.
Our mind doesn’t have to hold us captive anymore; a Spirit-led mind has the power to set us free.
About the Book, “Take Every Thought Captive”
In Take Every Thought Captive: Exchange Lies of the Enemy for the Mind of Christ, author and speaker Kelly Balarie encourages readers to seize the power of God's Word not only profess truth, but possess it in their mind, heart, and actions.
Take Every Thought Captive helps readers:
- Transform their minds and release the worries, burdens, and lies from the enemy
- Pray through times of mental and emotional strife
- Become warriors and fight for God's plan and purpose
- Use God's Word proactively instead of living defensively and defeated
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Koldunova_Anna
