Fighting The Greatest Battle In Our Mind April 16, 2007
Posted by Han in : Personal Development , trackbackOur mind is the place where stored information converges and computes decisions. It analyzes situations based on the information it receives. That information is received and stored in several ways; our experiences, what we see, feel and hear, whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual.
The human, conscious mind is the starting point for the internalizing of conclusive or fragmented thought, which in turn, determines what we will be, who we will be, and what we will do in our lives. Put it simply, thoughts in our mind will trigger off feelings and from our feelings it produces actions or habits. Have you ever felt frightened or uncomfortable when sitting in an airplane? This is a feeling of fear created by thoughts in the mind that at anytime the plane may crash. Just from this simple illustration, we can safely draw a conclusion that what our mind thinks, would affect our being tremendously. Our mind is where often the Greatest Battleground is fought especially when we are all now living in such a sinful world surrounded by temptations, evil and deceptions. As such it is important that we have a fortified mind based on the truth.
We know that God had created us in such a way that we still have the liberty to choose on how we should live our life. Whether we make or break in life will depend very much on how and what we think. A weakened mind would always have such phrases lingering - “No I can’t”, “It’s impossible”, “I am sick”, “I quit” and etc. By feeding our mind with these negative thoughts continuously, it will dwell and assimilate in us causing us to fail in whatever we do. In order to overcome and live a victorious life, we need to counteract the negative thoughts, displace it or drive it away. Therefore, the ultimate goal is to think properly and allow our mind to be transformed or renewed by God’s Word. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God,” Romans 12:2. We must decide what part of our being is going to govern us and it will come through the light of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. For instance, your body might say, you are sick, but God’s Word says, you are healed. Faith must be germinated in the human spirit and take over the government of the body and vanquish sickness.
Now that we know that what goes through our mind affects the way we live, it is therefore vital that we guard and protect our mind from being infiltrate by negative elements that is almost always around us today. How we eat or live our life affects a fortified mind. We need Peace in our mind in order to live successfully and healthily. Through certain Gates, influx of information is gathered and fed to our mind. These gates are the five senses: hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching. If we use them correctly, it will help guard our mind and promote peace whilst if we choose to allow our gates to be exposed to wrongful elements, destruction awaits. Our gates, God’s precious gift to us are to be used wisely:-
• The EYES are the windows through which we see God’s creation and many beautiful things that can stimulate faith and worship. Proverbs 15:30, “The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.” It is through the eyes that we read God’s Word so that it can germinate in our spirit as a result. Proverbs 4:21, “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.” Through the eyes, our body enjoys certain sights and we are touched in our emotions.
• Through the sense of TOUCH, we feel things that can bring pleasure and can help in carrying out the accomplishments of different craft, which in turn feed our ego and emotions. The sexual experience, body ointments, bathing, feeling the warmth of the sun or a cool breeze are channeled into us through touch and affect our state of being. It also is a channel through which we impart the healing power of God from our spirit through the laying on of hands or comfort through caressing.
• Through the EARS, we hear many beautiful sounds that can stimulate such as God’s inspirational music. We can hear things that can depress, if we allow them to. It is through the ears that the Word of God is heard and faith comes as a result. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• Through SMELLING, we smell fragrances; some appealing and some not so appealing. Proverbs 27:9, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.”
• Through TASTE our body again gains pleasure and enjoyment, which can directly interface with soulish and spiritual experience, as do all of the gates or senses.
Most of us may have gone through some bad experiences over our lifetime and the level of damage it cause to our life vary from individual to individual. These traumatic experiences such as losing love ones, failing in final examinations, lost of business or wealth, abused by own parents or strangers when young and etc. often leaves an indelible scar both physically and psychologically. We would be lying to ourselves if we say that we had forgotten of our past. The fact that we had these bad experiences does not mean that we can never have a strong mind any more. We have a choice. We can always choose not to focus on the past but on God, on what He does or say. We should focus on the good things instead, Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” and Philemon 6, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” This, in turn would rearrange or reinforce the information that already exists in our being. The old nature or old self has been put to the cross, crucified with Christ. The old man or our past is no longer the dominant factor in our lives and its limiting affect has been broken through Christ. Through the Word of God and from His spirit that project into our mind, we know we will have the ability to counteract the ugly thoughts that holds our past bad experiences which kept haunting us.
By keeping our mind fortified based on His truth, we will see immediate change in our lifestyle. What seems to be impossible is now all made possible through Him. In our work place, tasks that we thought we were not able to perform, we can now do it efficiently through His Wisdom. In school, we can now focus better in our studies and score better grades because studying had become an enjoyment rather then what we thought in the past that only people with high IQ’s could do well in their studies. Here are just some life examples on how by simply having a right and positive mind and rejecting negative thoughts, what seems impossible can be made possible:-
1) As a young boy, the odds were stacked against Tan Chong It. Doctors painted a bleak picture of his future by telling him that he would be slow both physically and mentally due to a defect in his brain. However, Chong It refused to give in and was determined to prove them wrong. In the recent 2006 STPM examinations or equivalent of A Level Examinations, Chong It emerged as one of Malaysia’s top three STPM scorers among special students when he scored five straight As. “Doctors said I would be slow in life but I told myself that I had to prove them wrong”. Chong It was right and the doctors were wrong.
2) For years, the 4-minute mile was considered not merely unreachable but, according to physiologists of the time, dangerous to the health of any athlete who attempted to reach it. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile in recorded history. The 25-year-old native of Harrow on the Hill, England, became the first man in the world to complete the distance at under 4 minutes at Oxford. When he crossed the finish line with a time of 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, he broke through a psychological barrier as well. He made it simply because he refused to believe that no man could do it and what more when experts advised him that it will not be possible for any human to achieve such feat at that time.
3) Medical research had shown that specific thoughts could create changes in the body. When you are happy, your body knows it. When you’re depressed and feeling hopeless, your body also knows that. Every organ in our body participates in the happiness or sadness. Keeping a peaceful mind and positive feelings will lead to cure and expedites recovery of illnesses. It will enable cells in our body to release endorphins and disease-fighting immunoglobulins. For victims who had recovered from terminal disease such as cancer, for sure, many could testify that the way to fight off the deadly disease is by having the right mind and positive attitude. This in turn would generate healthy and powerful cells in the body that will overcome the cancerous cells.
For those suffering from mental illness as a result of depression or stress, bear in mind that medication will still have to be continued. Nonetheless, we still have a choice and that is to put our Will into God’s Mighty Hand. We can always pray to God and acknowledge to Him that our feelings are weak and ask Him for help. When our mind is weakened, our will is dormant. We need to activate our will and with God’s help our mind will be strengthened.
So lastly, the big question is should we all be concerned with every thought that comes into our mind? It is important that all of us should know that the mind is the place where the ENEMY begins his work in our lives by projecting thoughts into our minds. Many times the thoughts we think are mere passing thoughts and BEWARE. The key is to cast those thoughts out before they take root. The concern should not lie in the thoughts we briefly think, but rather, how often we think them and are they taking root?
When Jesus was tempted, thoughts entered his mind, but He did not let them take root or act on them. Luke 4:1-13, “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
So let us all guard our fortified mind with vigilance today and when we fight our greatest battle everyday along with God, who can stand AGAINST US!
Article by: Reuson Seet
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