The Battlefield of the Mind

As long as you live in a mortal body, your mind is the place where your fight with Satan will be won or lost. Your mind is the battlefield.

Some people have made the mistake of thinking Satan's attacks come in the realm of the spirit, but they don't! Jesus defeated him once and for all where the spirit realm is concerned - and when we made Jesus Lord of our lives, that victory became forever ours.

The battle for your spirit is over. It has already been fought and won. As a believer, you've been spiritually reborn into the image of God, and there is absolutely nothing the devil can do to change that. He's been permanently kicked out of that domain.

The battle is for your mind. It’s a spiritual battle, spiritual warfare, in which the enemy knows that if he can influence your mind he can affect your actions! What do you need to know in order to win in this arena of spiritual warfare?

God calls His people to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. This transformation of thinking God’s thoughts after Him is a daily pursuit. To aid you in this, Renewing Your Mind broadcasts a daily message and related resource offer that exposits the glories of God revealed in the Bible against the backdrop of culture, philosophy, apologetics, ethics, and church history. Think of it as bridging the gap between Sabbath school and seminary—equipping you for the Christian life.

When God begins to deal with us about wrong behavior, it's easy enough to say, "I can't help it," but it takes real courage and faith to say, "I'm ready to take responsibility and get my life straightened out."

Much of our thinking is habitual. If we regularly think about God and good things, godly thoughts become natural. Thousands of thoughts flow through our minds every day. We may feel we have no control, but we do. Although we don't have to use any effort to think wrong thoughts, we have to use much effort to think good thoughts. As we begin to make changes, we will have to fight a battle.

Our mind is the battlefield, and Satan's primary way of initiating his evil plan for us is through our thoughts. If we feel we have no power over our thoughts, Satan will entrap and defeat us. Instead, we can determine to think in godly ways.

God has given us the power to decide--to choose right thinking over wrong. But once we make that choice, we must continue to choose right thoughts. It's not a once-and-for-all decision, but it does get easier. The more we fill our lives with reading the Bible, prayer, praise, and fellowship with other believers, the easier it is for us to continue choosing right thoughts.

It takes time to learn to choose good and push away evil. It won't be easy, but we're moving in the right direction every time we take responsibility and make the right choices.

It's often said that the mind is the devil's playground. And it's said for good reason.

The majority of the battles you face are waged between your ears. Yes, frequently issues such as fear, insecurity, temptation or depression aren't so much the product of the weather or chemicals in the brain, but of how you process thoughts.

The Source of Spiritual Warfare.

Consider what Paul penned about the source and solution to spiritual warfare. "[Cast] down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God," he instructed. "[Bring] every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5, MEV). Certainly, this describes a battle in the mind. But there's much more here than what meets the eye.

First, note that the Greek word for "imaginations" is logismos. This is the word from which we derive "logic" or "reasoning." Secondly, the phrase "high thing" comes from the word hypsoma, which means "arrogance." In essence, Satan comes with arrogant reasoning in which he attempts to manufacture imaginations in you that seem more real than the truths of God's Word. And thus begins the warfare.

How to Overcome Mind Games.

The riddle reveals Satan's strategy against your mind. That is, he often presents bits of truth—perhaps a real struggle, symptom or circumstance—and then fills in the unknowns with imaginations. These imaginations are the fodder for your fears, insecurities and so on.

Like we learn with the riddle, the solution to overcome these mind games is to confront them with truth. If a circumstance begins to fill you with fear, cast it down with the certainty of God's Word: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control" (2 Tim. 1:7, MEV). If you face a symptom that works up worry, meditate on the assurance that "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed" (Is. 53:5, MEV). Reject rejection with the reality that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10, MEV).

Always remember: God's Word is more real than what you feel or think. The truths God has planted in His Scriptures are sure to help you overcome any imagination the devil attempts to plant in your mind.

Pray: Powerful God, remind me that I can and do make choices every day. Please help me to monitor my thoughts, choosing only those that will help me overcome the devil and win the battle for my mind. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.