"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace," Rom. 8:6. There it is, plain and simple. The fact is, our minds are either controlled by the Spirit or the flesh. We actually have been given free will to choose who will be in charge of our minds! Isn't that good news, that it isn't dictated to us who will be in charge of our minds? We have an option continually placed in front of us to choose to allow the Spirit to control our minds. Choose wisely.
The battle of the mind has been in existence since the dawn of creation. God designed it that way when He created us in His image, giving us the ability and freedom to choose. The modern-day miracle is inherent in this design: that a broken, sinful vessel such as us humans would be able to be indwelled and influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, He has made this truly possible.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Rom. 12:1-2.
Verse one includes a very strong pleading, urging, and beseeching to act. Not that our faith is based on a formula or has steps for success, but it appears the very first thing necessary to have a Spirit-controlled mind is to humble ourselves, submit to God, and offer our bodies to Him as an act of worship. We have need to lay ourselves down to have Him lift us up. We are called to empty ourselves and be filled with His Spirit. This is actually a proper response to discovering His love, mercy, and grace.
Verse two contains the command to not be conformed to the pattern of this world. It not only implies the need for change, but commands our transforming and renewing of our minds. This is masculine, spiritual violence at its best. We must be strong in this willful decision to push away, kick out, remove, and kill the mind of sinful flesh and worldliness. We must be willing to cooperate with the process of changing our minds to be led by the Spirit. This is how we will be able to discern what His will is in certain situations. We will be more inclined to want what He wants in dealing with certain issues or challenges. When we put on the mind of Christ, we will pray for what He wants, do what He does, talk as He, and walk as He did. It's a life worth living. It's a life of purpose, meaning, and influence. It's a life of blessing, knowing we have participated in His work, where He has actually acted through us on behalf of His people to accomplish His purposes of advancing His kingdom.
So, what subjects do we need to begin thinking differently about? What do we need a better perspective about? The Spirit should be illuminating things that we need to adopt a more healthy mindset about. I have a couple of areas that He is nudging me in. They are very challenging indeed. They involve giving up and not subscribing to any worldly measures of success. They will require complete transformation of perspective. The difficulty lies in balancing our responsibilities and goals within His sovereignty and plan. We are called to commit everything to Him and do it for His glory, yet we are to give our best effort with excellence in our work. One of the rubs seems to be expectations and results. We expect a favorable outcome if we put in the hard yards. We always hope to reach our goals. We pray for good things to happen. Truly, results are only owned by God and He alone knows what is best for His plan, but we get frustrated and resentful when the results don't go our way.
How do we know when our minds are controlled by the Spirit? I have to look at Galatians 5 to see a list of Spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Those are telltale signs of being Spirit-led. Just plug in the opposite words to know what it would look like if controlled by the flesh. Help me in this, Lord. I count on Your patience and grace, as I stumble through the daily process of taking on Your mind in how to think about my challenging situations. Please, keep renewing and making my mind to be like Yours. Work through me to influence Your people positively. Bring me healthy and fruitful ways of looking at things. I long to be free of the burdensome and vain qualities of subscribing to a worldly mind.
