3 Actions You Can Take to Take Control of Your Mind.

The Mission of God to free captives calls forth a church renewed in its thinking: seeing life through the new eyes of a renewed mind.

It is easy to say but hard to live.

There are dark corners in every mind; Places so damaged, so dark, so alienated, no one wants to admit those thoughts live anywhere in our minds.

No wonder Paul said, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:4–6, ESV)

This unruly monster does not have to destroy us. It can be harnessed. It can be renewed. Seriously. Here are three actions you can take to take control of your mind:

1. Hear His Voice.

Words are the building blocks of thought. Somewhere someone started placing words in your mind. Words like “beautiful,” “stupid,” “special,” “burden,” “gifted,” “problem,” “accident,” “beloved,” “unloved.”

These words are now lodged within you, and you begin to formulate thoughts with the words given to you.

To make matters worse, you start out broken from Adam’s brokenness, and you live in a world that has fallen over and is “hell bent” on destroying the Image Bearer of God.

It takes intentional effort to replace these words with The Word. It is a counter-cultural act of holy rebellion.

Every culture, sub-culture, and group forms their own vocabulary and language. Think of any sport. American football has its own language. Soccer (European football) has its own language. Same with Cricket, Curling, and checkers. The Kingdom of God has its own language as well.

The first step in learning any new language is to submerge yourself in listening to it. As Believers, we need to listen to Him, to hear His voice.

I hear His voice in the Scriptures. Daily time in the Word is transformative. I found “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart to be very helpful.

I hear His voice through the preaching of the Word. There is something supernatural that happens under the anointed preaching of the Word of God. I am praying for a revival of preaching the word of God. I love stories and motivational talks, but nothing will ever take the place of the anointed preaching of the Word of God.

I hear His voice in prayer. Early in my Christian life I was strongly influenced by “A Treasury of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds, edited by Leonard Ravenhill. I highly recommend it. There is something that happens when I cry out to Him. There is a form of prayer that can only be called a cry. Sometimes you have to have that long, dark night of the soul.

• You will need to slow down. Journaling helps me do this. It slows my mind down to hear the frequency God uses when He speaks to me.
• You will also need to log off of Facebook, Twitter, email, radio, television, and all the other noise mongers we have to deal with in our everyday life; those persistent encroachers of our private world, in order to hear His still, small voice. Archibald Hart has some real insight into this.

2. Heed His Word.

The Bible uses several words that are translated into English as “obey.” The main word is “hypokouo”. It means, “to answer the door.” Think of it: When God speaks to you about your relationships, your business, your finances, or any part of your life, he is knocking at the door of that part of your life, wanting to enter into it for greater blessings and provision.

When you obey his word, you are “opening the door” for God to come into that area of your life.

What is God speaking to you about these days? He is knocking at the door. Open it. Let him in. Heed His Word.

3. Hold to His Promises.

When God speaks to you it gives you a sense of certain, and in that certainty Satan is no match for you because you stand in God’s authority.

You may be in the “mean time”, that time between the promise and the fulfillment. Hold on. The Word is at work. You may not be able to see it, but stand on His promise. It is certain. It is true.

Hear these words, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, ESV)

Dear friend, there remains for you a place of rest and refreshment. There remains for you a place of bold opportunity. There remains for you a place of promised certainty. Let His Word hold you, anchor you, mold you, build you up, transform you, refresh you, and sustain you. He who promised is faithful.

Let him who has ears to hear, let him hear.

BONUS MATERIAL

When reading through a passage of Scripture, here are seven questions that can help you “Hear His Voice” in the Scripture:

1. Are there EXAMPLES to follow?

2. Are there COMMANDS to obey?

3. Are there ERRORS to avoid?

4. Are there SINS to forsake?

5. Are there PROMISES to claim?

6. Are there NEW THOUGHTS about God?

7. Are there PRINCIPLES to live by?

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