The mind is the most critical part of spiritual warfare. Without the active engagement of the mind—learning, thinking, discerning, understanding, deciding, committing—we are doomed to spiritual defeat by Satan. That is why the Bible speaks of the mind and thinking so often (nearly 150 times).
As the great teacher and writer Oswald Chambers wrote, "Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...' (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together."
Whether the mind is the greatest gift of God or one of God's greatest gifts doesn't matter—Chambers' point is well made: Whatever is greatly valued by God is going to be greatly contested by Satan. We can go so far as to say that the human mind is the ultimate battlefield for spiritual warfare.
Satan is more concerned about what we think and believe than about anything else.
Jesus called Satan "the father of lies" (John 8:44, NIV). Why? Because his chief strategy is to deny, confuse, misrepresent, or counterfeit whatever God has said. God's native language is truth (John 17:17) and Satan's native language is lies (John 8:44). The domain in which we decide what is true and what is false is the mind. As Oswald Chambers pointed out, Paul told the Corinthians they needed to "[bring] every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
When it comes to the struggle over your mind, it is imperative that we remember the truth of 1 John 5:19: "...the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. "Satan doesn't own this world, but he has access to it. His influence is found everywhere—in government, education, entertainment, business, the family, ecclesiastical realms...everywhere! The mind that knows no better will receive what the world dispenses and believe that's all there is.
That's why the apostle Paul told the Romans, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. "That is the only way to "prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2). And it is also why Jesus said we must love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).
Going deeper and deeper into the knowledge of God means loving Him with all our mind. God is infinite, and the human mind may as well be: It is estimated that a mouse brain contains 70 million neurons, and a human brain contains 1,000 times that many neurons (70 billion). Neuroscientists who are creating 3-D images of a mouse brain's neurons have so far re-created a segment about the size of a grain of salt. The data contained in that tiny segment is about 100 terabytes—the equivalent of 25,000 high definition movies. Imagine the amount of data held in the entire mouse's brain—and then in the human brain!
Such mind-boggling capacity has many implications. First, we have more than a lifetime's worth of renewing to do. Second, there is a lot of mental capacity for us to safeguard against the lies of Satan.
We must have a biblical grid through which we process and evaluate everything we take in from every source. We allow nothing to find a permanent place in our mind that does not square with God's Word in terms of purity, importance, truth, and edification.
The mind games Satan plays with you and me are deadly serious. Take a moment and dedicate your mind to God for His glory—and safeguard it daily.
Discover six strategies for safeguarding your mind from Dr. David Jeremiah.
Dr. David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point Radio and Television Ministries and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church. He is a sought-after conference speaker for organizations around the country. He frequently speaks at Cedarville College, Dallas Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, Billy Graham Training Center, Phil Waldrep’s Senior Adult Celebrations, National Quartet Convention and numerous NFL, NBA and Baseball chapels. Dr. Jeremiah's commitment is to teach the whole Word of God. His passion for people and his desire to reach the lost are evident in the way he communicates Bible truths and his ability to get right to the important issues. Dr. Jeremiah continues to be excited to see what God is going to do in broadcast ministry around the world through the Ministries of Turning Point.
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