The Battle in the Mind

Have you ever heard the statement, “The battle is in the mind”? I have countless times. I’ve even ministered on the topic.

I suppose in military terms one could say the thought life is the command post. In the armed services, all strategies, battle plans and orders must first run through “intelligence.” In reality, most campaigns are won or lost right here, long before they actually are acted out on the battlefield.

So it is with our minds. This control center is the arena the enemy wants to infiltrate so he can defeat us in our thought life, long before we are ever confronted in the fray.

You see, our opponent, the devil, is a talking adversary. He comes to us with a full quiver of verbal arrows ready to launch his thoughts, ideas and words into our minds, in the hope that we will accept them as our own and eventually, act on them. That’s why it is said in spiritual warfare, “Whoever gets the mind … gets the man.” For out of our thought lives, decisions are made, and from our decisions, behavior is practiced. In other words, what we think about, we bring about!

Consequently, the war zones of our minds must be prepared for attack. If we are aware that our center of thinking and feeling is a primary target for the devil to invade, we will be less likely to fall prey to his assaults. Remember, his mind games are not mere war games; the devil plays for keeps.

The Bible tells us that we, the children of God, are the intended objects of Satan’s fiery darts. The deluge of his smoldering shafts of accusation, deception and outright temptation will be shot directly at us with the goal of penetrating our hearts and minds. This is why we are admonished to be alert and equipped with spiritual weapons. God has not intended for us to be the helpless victims of these mental attacks, but He has provided a way for us to be armed and courageous—by clothing ourselves with the armor of God:

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground … take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:13,16-17, NIV).

He assures us that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4, NKJV).

By reading and meditating on the Scriptures, we renew our minds and position ourselves for victory. We also allow the Holy Spirit to strike the match of truth and burn out of our thinking all the subtle lies and false beliefs that have been secretly sown by the enemy. Knowing what God’s Word says helps us to readily discern the sly onslaught of deception when it comes our way.

Yes, the adversary will try to access our minds. All the more reason for us to keep them where he cannot find them! The Bible tells us how to do this: Focus on the things of God.

The apostle Paul told the Colossians, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2, NIV). In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things…and the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:8,9, NKJV).

It is clearly our responsibility to train our minds to think on things that are heavenly, good and uplifting. The way I read these passages, we are not to permit our thoughts to wander aimlessly with any impression or suggestion that enters our heads. Instead we are to screen these entries to see where they are originating—sort of like a divine caller ID!

So today, if you want the peace of God to guard your heart and mind, remember to set your mind on things above. This won’t prevent evil missiles from being launched against you, but it will keep you from being an easy target—and help you win the battle in the mind.