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The mind is a beautiful blessing given to man whereby he can ponder and
think and challenge his world with better things. From the mind come
imagination and thought. The mind represents the hope and the aspiration of
all man's needs and wants. From the complex mass of the brain, millions
upon millions of thoughts explode upon the eyes of the soul. "I will praise
You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and
that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:14)
The mind is also the seat of a great battle. In the garden of Eden, Satan
used persuasive words to tempt the woman. He did not force her by strength
of physical power but with words he caused her to ponder the law of God.
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit
and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6)
Paul describes the battle with Satan as a spiritual war "For though we
walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
The overwhelming battle of the mind is brought to full reality by Paul in
Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." With
every moment of our existence, we wrestle against the power of Satan seeking
to control and direct our lives. He accomplishes this by the power over our
minds. God has offered a way to defeat Satan and refuse to allow Satan to
control our lives: "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." (Philippians 4:8)
Paul encourages us to set our minds on these types of things to protect us
from the influences of the devil. Meditating on truth, nobility, things
that are just, pure and lovely and those things that are of good report with
virtue and praise - this should be the mind of the child of God. To
meditate on these virtues purifies the mind of the evil influences.
Thinking on these things will defeat the works of the flesh (Galatians
5:19-21). Giving thought to these things will increase the fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23).
To mediate on something is to give timely cause to its design, purpose and
growth in my life. I must awaken in the morning with the desire to think
about things that are true during the day. My actions - determined by my
thoughts - are based upon an honest character showing righteousness to those
around me. The outlook I have is pure and lovely and looking for the "good
report" instead of the bad. My mind looks for the moral goodness in myself
and those around me and I seek to share my life with others in need. The
result is a day filled with praise and thanksgiving to God for allowing me
to meditate and set my mind on things above, "Where Christ is, sitting at
the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1)
The mind is a terrible thing to waste - especially when we have so many good
things to think about. These good things come from time spent in the house
of God, sitting at the feet of the Creator and seeking His counsel from His
words. What do you think about all day? Meditate on these things!
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