How To Take Control Of Your Mind

 

A big part of standing against the enemy of our souls is taking control over our minds. As the Bible says, we must learn to bring every thought into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5).

It was an astounding revelation to me as a new believer when I learned that I didn't have to entertain every thought that came into my head. I had a choice about whether to listen to them or not. Many serial killers talk about how they heard a voice in their head telling them to kill and they just followed orders.

When people are not raised to discern the voices in their head, they don't recognize the voice of the devil. He is a clever deceiver who will come to each one of us and try to speak lies into our minds. We have to be ready for him.

Do you ever have certain thoughts that play over and over in your mind like an old broken record? Have you ever had a thought come to your mind that produces a physical feeling in your body, such as a pain in your heart, a queasy sensation in the pit of your stomach, tightness in your throat, weakness in your arms and legs, tears in your eyes, a rash on your face and neck? Do "what if" thoughts ever plague your mind, such as "What if I jumped off the balcony?" or "What if I ran my car into that wall?"

Have you ever had "if only" thoughts? Such as, "If only I hadn't done that." "If only I had been there." "If only I would have said something." Do you ever have self-punishing thoughts? "No one cares about me." "I'm such a failure." "I'm no good." "Nothing I do turns out right."

If you've had thoughts like these, please know that this is not God giving you revelation for your life. It is the enemy trying to gain control of your mind.

Life has much suffering, but too often we suffer unnecessarily because of lies we believe about ourselves and our circumstances. We accept as fact the words that are spoken to our souls by an enemy who wants us destroyed.

We can become fearful, depressed, lonely, angry, doubtful, confused, insecure, hopeless, beaten down, worried, and full of self-pity, all because of lies we believe. But we can overcome each one of these lies with prayer, faith, and the truth of God's Word.

You must be aware, however, that one of the enemy's tactics is to try and steal God's Word from you. He will do that by getting you to question God's Word, just as he did with Eve in the Garden. "Did God really say that?" "Does God really mean that?" "Will God really mind if you do that?" "Does God really care about you?"

Then he will contradict God's Word. "God didn't say that." "God doesn't mind that." "God doesn't think you're worth much." "God's withholding good things from you."

When the thoughts that you think begin to question and contradict God's Word, you are being set up by your enemy.

Remember, "there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Certain thoughts may appear to you to be accurate, but when you hold them up next to God's Word, the lie is exposed.

Deception is the enemy's ongoing plan of attack. Jesus said the devil "was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. 

When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). 

The only power the devil has is in getting people to believe his lies. If they don't believe his lies, he is powerless to get his work done.

Choose Your Thoughts Carefully

You have a choice about what you will accept into your mind and what you won't. You can choose to take every thought captive and "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5), or you can allow the devil to feed you lies and manipulate your life. 

Every sin begins as a thought in the mind. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:21-22). If you don't take control of your mind, the devil will.

That's why you must he diligent to monitor what you allow into your mind. What TV shows, magazines, and books do you look at? What music, radio programs, or CDs do you listen to? Do they fill your mind with godly thoughts and feed your spirit so you feel enriched, clear-minded, peaceful, and blessed or do they deplete you and leave you feeling empty, confused, anxious, and fearful? "God is not the author of confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33).

When we fill our minds with God's Word and godly books and magazines written by people in whom God's Spirit resides, and we listen to music that praises and glorifies Him, we leave no room for the enemy's propaganda.

If you want to determine whether your thoughts are from the enemy or the Lord, ask yourself, "Are these thoughts I would choose to have?" If you answer no, then they are probably from your enemy. If, for example, you are sitting in church and you suddenly envision the choir naked, recognize where this is coming from.

Rather than beat yourself up for having impure thoughts, tell the enemy to get off your brain because you will not allow your soul to be a dumping ground for his trash. Tell him you "have the mind of Christ" and you won't listen to anything that is inconsistent with that (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Refusing to entertain unrighteousness in your thought life is part of resisting the devil. How many people have we known who should have done that and didn't?

You don't have to live with confusion or mental oppression. You don't have to "walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardnening of their heart" (Ephesians 4:17- 18). Instead you can have clarity and knowledge. 

Even though your enemy tries to convince you that your future is as hopeless as his, or that you are a failure with no purpose, value, gifts, or abilities, God says exactly the opposite. Believe God and don't listen to anything else.

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