It’s been said that life is won or lost in the mind. We rise or fall from the thoughts we entertain. The rush of emotions from these moments can either add to or deplete our energy, depending on the perspective we build and allow. At times, it may feel that we are bombarded and ill-equipped to handle the forceful barrage of mental images that demand our attention. The truth is, we were created in the image of God. He has not only exposed the enemies’ tactics but also has provided the arsenal needed to win the battle of the mind and maintain a garrison that guards the soul.
Matthew 16:13-23, we find Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi, where He presents two questions to His disciples concerning who He is. First, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They respond with the names of a few prophets. In other words, a good man with a cause but nothing more. I want to say this: a natural perspective of life will always downplay, belittle, and excuse away God’s desire and purpose of abundance and success.
Then Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus’ reply sets the stage for our thoughts this month. Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Jesus goes on to say that on this rock or revealed revelation, He will build His church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. This inside information concerning the authority of Heaven and the establishment of the church solidifies the life that Jesus came to give. It also highlights the fact that your perspective, your thought life, can be elevated to a heavenly position, where you confidently live out God’s will.
Just after Peter gives a statement that won him a verbal accolade, he then pulls Jesus aside to rebuke Him for the statement of suffering many things from the religious elders and being killed and raised the third day. Peter says, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” Peter is expressing natural wisdom and a compassionate heart to protect Jesus. But notice Jesus’ response to Peter, He says, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense or stumbling block to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter had gone from an elevated perspective of divine revelation to a debased and natural observation and desire.
Jesus was making the point that Peter’s mind was set on the things of God, but fixed on the things of man. We are called to cultivate a standpoint that accepts the miraculous and reveals the reality of Heaven provided in Christ. This war of the mind we must fight daily.
We are called to cultivate a standpoint that accepts the miraculous and reveals the reality of Heaven provided in Christ. The Lord said to me, “There must be an understanding of how Satan uses the mind to resist the forces of the Spirit and capture the innocent.”
I’m giving you three quick thoughts that will help elevate your perspective.
Choose your perspective daily. Deuteronomy 30:19 The Lord said, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Joshua 24:15, “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve or worship…” The beautiful thing about life is that God sets the table, and you choose to partake or forsake the provision.
Words are an expression of thought, and thoughts are the unborn realities of either life or death. When we speak, we give birth to those thoughts and set the course of our lives. Colossians 3:1-2 admonishes us to choose the elevated perspective that produces the realities of heaven on earth, it says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind or elevate your perspective to the things above, not on the things on the earth.”
Build your perspective. This idea is simplistic in nature, but it is the key to laying the foundation, the rock on which your daily life is built. Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed (shaped, molded or influenced) to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove (authenticate) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
So how do I transform my thinking, elevate my perspective to see each thought, moment, and situation from the place where I sit with Christ? The answer is simple, with the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” When we have an intake of God’s word that surpasses the intake of the world’s opinion, God’s word becomes the filter through which all information passes. Doubts and fears are eliminated as truth is accepted and known, and liberty is acquired.
Protect your perspective. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “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 might in God for the pulling down of strongholds.” A stronghold is a castle-like structure built in your mind from bricks of broken thoughts that are in direct conflict with the will and plan of God. It is from this structure that the enemy rests and waits to attack in moments of fatigue. It goes on to say, though, in verse five, “…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.”
We must know the mind of Christ, for it is from this knowledge that we can violently, brick by brick or thought by thought, dethrone the enemy from where he strategically plots to capture, oppress, and defeat us.