Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle of Your Mind

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And there is this great conviction: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15 KJV). I don’t have to understand it, Job says, but I’m going to trust God no matter what. With the Holy Spirit as our guide, God’s positivity will inform how we see the world, and we’ll be able to interpret and contextualize His teachings and messages and apply them to our lives. It can be a worldview, such as materialism, hedonism, Darwinism, secularism, relativism, communism, atheism. All of the different - isms are mental strongholds that people set up against the knowledge of God. I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV). That’s a conviction. We need men and women of conviction.

Do you want light and understanding? Or do you want to continue in semi-darkness and ignorance and prejudice? The choice is yours to make. If you want light and understanding, you’ll need to come against those fortresses in your own mind with the truth of the Word of God and with the power of prayer. Humble yourself and let the Word of God do its work in you—change you, adjust you, remake you, refashion you. It’s not enough just not to believe everything we think. It’s not enough just to guard our minds from the garbage. It’s not enough to keep on learning and developing character. We must also let God develop our imagination. Because we must outthink and out-dream and outsmart the world for the glory of God — not for our private good but for the glory of God and the good of others. You would never invite somebody, “Why don’t you murder somebody right here in my living room?” But you do it every time you watch a TV show in which somebody murders. How do you guard your mind against garbage? How do you help others guard their minds against garbage? Some people are so open-minded that their brains fall out. They think they can allow anything into their mind, and they will be just fine. They’re kidding themselves. Two Ways to Guard Our Minds Anyone who’s ever read The Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer knows that until we get our thoughts under submission, they will continue to rule us and cause us to make bad decisions, have bad (or ruin) relationships, and live with worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger, and feelings of condemnation.Admittedly like many others here I not a big fan of televangelists, I appreciate their tremendous work in reaching to an audience that would never consider for themselves going face to face with people in a christian church. I do consider alot of their teaching as baby food in the scale of what should a believer should be eating. However coming at low point recently I began reading this book and fed upon every word. N” stands for nourish a godly mind. Make sure that you are growing and developing. Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Mediate and fix. Study and reflect. A lot of people know all the contemporary books and none of the classics. Jesus did not just begin building his church in the year 2000. He has been working in and through his body for two millennia, and you can save yourself a lot of time if you will avail yourself of the whole tradition. It is wise to learn from experience, but it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. It is also easier! It saves a lot of time and saves us from making the mistakes of others. Read, Read, Read

What is a stronghold? A stronghold is an area where the enemy entrenches himself and takes control. You have probably heard this term used when referring to soldiers fighting battles. These battles in our minds are actually a normal part of Christian experience. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul speaks about this very vividly. In verse three he says: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” All of these words deal with the realm of the mind: arguments, the knowledge of God and taking every thought captive. Paul has made it clear that the battlefield is the mind. A lot of the biblical passages used were forced into the scenario making it feel contrived. Things were often taken out of context to make a point that wasn't in the original meaning, but I think that's par for the course when discussing religion.While I was growing up, my dad was on the staff of a seminary. So I heard more sermons growing up than most people. And as I heard all these sermons, I would write over and over again as I was taking notes, “ YBH, YBH, YBH” — yes, but how?

As I read along I kept getting the notion that this woman might be a twit, though I don't believe that after seeing her speaking segment, and looking at what she's accomplished, but the way she comes across with her writing... In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks about “strongholds.” Another translation says, “strongholds in our minds.” What are those strongholds? I have given much thought to this, and I would suggest to you they fall under three main headings. Joyce’s programs, Enjoying Everyday Life and Everyday Answers with Joyce Meyer, can be seen around the world through television, radio, and the Internet. Joyce has authored more than 100 books, which have been translated into more than 100 languages and over 65 million of her books have been distributed worldwide. She teaches in cities across America as well as internationally. Joyce Meyer Ministries has offices in nine countries. T” stands for test every thought. Psalm 139:23–24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Ask God to search and test your thoughts. Don’t believe everything you think. Test every thought.

Thank you for those who have read and engaged this chapter. I pray that you would raise up a new generation of godly intellectuals who know your Word, understand your mind, feel your heart, live out your character, and do your will with skill. Another example of the way the spirit and the mind work together is the gift of tongues with interpretation. Philippians 4:6–8 gives us two ways to guard our minds from garbage: conversational prayer and concentrated focusing: You see, John 8:44 teaches us that Satan is a liar. He attempts over and over to get us to believe things that aren’t true. That’s why it is critical for us to learn how to renew our minds with the weapon of God’s Word.

Meyer argues that if the Devil can lure us into a negative mindset, he can keep us lost in a cycle of negativity indefinitely, impeding our ability to move forward in our relationship with God, relationships with other people, and our goals in life. She outlines 10 common negative mindsets that can trap people and some insights on how to escape them. Battlefield of the Mind is about solving some of the common problems we all encounter in life, such as depression, anger, or worry, by getting you to examine the way you think about things, or as the book puts it, "you need to begin to think about what you are thinking about." And that's basically the goal of the whole book.If your mood begins to sink or you have a bad attitude, take an inventory of your current thoughts and you will very likely find the culprit. I enjoy knowing that I can do something about my problems… that I can do my own thinking. Do you think about what you’re thinking about? This may sound funny, however learning to regularly take inventory of our thoughts is essential to having a good life. I grew up with a very highly educated mind. I had attended a prestigious university and had become a professor. But the trouble was that the mind that was being educated was an enemy of God. I had inside me a very highly educated enemy of God. Thinking positive is paramount to living a happy and successful life because our thoughts become self-fulfilling prophecies. Meyer explains that positive thoughts lead to positive words and actions that generate more positivity. Likewise, negative thoughts lead to negative words and actions that create further negativity. Therefore, Meyer argues that the only way to truly take ownership of our lives is to first take ownership of our thoughts.