Mental War

Not long ago I wrote about laboring in the cloud of confusion. Since then I have seen some days when the fog began to lift. I have also seen the fog return time and again. I have warred in my mind about a great many things lately. I am not necessarily talking about evil or wicked thoughts. I am talking about knowing the mind of God. There are so many things I do not know. There are several things I do not understand. There are decisions I do not know which way He wants me to decide.

This mental war has been exhausting. Having the mind of Christ is at times foreign to me. At other times I can proceed with confidence knowing I have heard from Him. This is one of the most frustrating things about my walk with the Lord. I do not always know His mind and there have been numerous times when I thought I did and it turned out I was wrong. This makes me more cautious and hesitant to really believe I know His will or have heard from His clearly on certain issues.

On top of all that there is the clutter of everyday life that combats with clearly discerning God’s mind and thinking those thoughts along with Him. Television is a distraction as well as busyness and the demands of work. Even my children can oppose my knowing the mind of God, even though innocently, as they clamor for my undivided attention.

To be frank, my early morning prayer times and scripture readings have not brought the needed clarity or peace I have sought in recent weeks. My sleep at times has been tormented. Yet the quest to know the mind of God continues. If I can think what He thinks, go where He leads, preach what He reveals, and be reminded of the forgotten ones He remembers, I can minister more effectively. If I can lead where He directs, focus on His priorities, pray for His will to be accomplished, and solve problems with His wisdom I can succeed. If I do not do these things I will crash and burn.

There are no shortcuts or formulas here. This is mental war. Never in my life has the scripture in [II Cor 10:5] been more real to me. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Countless ideas, plans, and directions flood into my mind on a daily and at times hourly basis. Some are good ideas. That does not necessarily mean they are God ideas though. Every single argument has to be destroyed that does not come from Him. There are arguments the enemy plants in our minds. We begin thinking, carrying on conversations, and rationalizing in the arena of the mind. This is a war we cannot win. The enemy will defeat us every time if we do not get the mind of God. All Satan has to do is to get our minds off course just a little bit and we can wind up shipwrecked in our faith. Every argument from Satan must be destroyed not politely listened to. There is a raging battle taking place and our minds are the battlefield.

Knowledge of God and knowing His mind must be our goal. It is a war. At times I feel a thousand voices shouting in the caverns of my mind. These voices bring confusion and chaos that God does not author. Every single thought must be taken captive. Any thought not brought in alignment with the mind of Christ can impact us emotionally, behaviorally, and spiritually. It is a battle.

If you do not believe me let me give you a little experiment. For the next sixty minutes I want you to focus on taking every thought captive to obey Christ. Work through all your thoughts. If you have a thought that does not honor Christ, take it captive and apprehend it. Refuse to even entertain that thought further and remove it from your mind. Do this over and over again for the next sixty minutes and let me know how you feel afterward. You will feel fatigued. If you are watching television you will find the battle even harder. If you are involved in conversations with others the battle will be taxing. If you just let your mind drift you still find yourself in a battle. This war of the mind takes place every single minute of every day. I even have to be careful with dreams. The enemy can work through our dreams. That is the one thing my boys are aware of before going to bed. Especially Tucker and Turner want us to pray for them not to have bad dreams.

This is what is so difficult for me. I want the mind of God to supersede my mind. I want to dwell on Him and His thoughts whether awake or asleep. I want to stay focused on what He wants me to be focused on. Knowing the mind of God for me as proven to be mental war. It is only when I truly know the mind of Christ that I can precede in confidence and be assured of victory. I know from past experience that every good idea does not necessarily translate into a God inspired idea. I have wasted much time following this course. I also know that I can waste time dwelling on thoughts that did not originate in the mind of God. Some of these thoughts might not be sinful but at the same time they are not productive. They are in essence a waste of time. If the enemy can keep us dwelling on those thoughts, then we will not be productive for the kingdom.

I do not know any easy answers to destroying Satan’s arguments or to taking his thoughts captive either. Like I said from the beginning it is a war and one I will lose time and again if I am not trusting in the power of the risen Christ to do the destroying and the taking captive for me. In Him alone I have peace. Through His revelation alone I will know His mind. The victory in the mind comes as I abide in Him. God, I ask you to win the war of the mind.