Adopting the Mind of God

By Adrienne Reece

Divorce, suicidal ideations, anger, rage, wishing death on another, helplessness in parenting with growing and grown children, negative medical diagnosis, surgery, and financial overwhelm, have all been just a few of the subjects on the other side of my phone in the last month. Without hesitation I can say that each of these phone conversations were a cry for help. I’m grateful for supernatural strength but still, that’s a lot right? And you know something, these issues, although all very different are all very similar.  Let me tell you how. All of these things are attacks on the mind. 

Think about it, a negative medical diagnosis causes us to reevaluate every decision we’ve made that led us to this point. The devastation of divorce makes us feel worthless and not sure how we ended up here–trust me, I’ve been there. Wishing or hoping death on yourself or someone else, although it sounds ideal in the moment, is a stronghold from the kingdom of darkness and much like a natural disaster, the aftermath just leaves more damage and brokenness behind. While we can clean up the mess, things will never be the same. 

There was a study that came out that said a teenager today has the same amount of anxiety as that of a 1955 psychiatric patient. YES! You know, the people that are too unstable for society. Our teenagers today are going through all of this. And guess what?! That teenager eventually grows up to become an employee, an employer, a public figure, a wife, a friend, and if not dealt with, those issues tag right along as if they have rights to your destiny affecting and infecting everyone you come close to.

In a world that is getting more overwhelming with the passing of each day, I want to encourage, equip, and empower you to take back control of your mind. I want you to see the enemy coming and I want you to recognize that his tricks have been the same since the Garden of Eden. John 10:10 gives us his entire resume. Killing hope, stealing identity, and destroying God’s promise of a beautiful eternal resting place, one soul at a time. What the scripture doesn’t plainly identify is how we are to deal. So today, I want to identify and expose how your enemy comes after you. 

In Genesis 3, we see the enemy come up to Eve when she was alone. Like the coward he is, he waited for her to be alone, separated, divided from her husband (that’ll preach all by itself!) But does this sound familiar? Do you hear negative thoughts mostly when you get by yourself? Do you feel overwhelmed with the worries of the world when you are alone? Well, the good news is YOU ARE NOT ALONE. You’re not alone in the assassination attempts of the enemy and you are not alone in feeling alone. Your enemy is after your focus, your family, your calling, your confidence, your heart, your marriage (or future marriage) your children (and future ones), your identity and everything in between! 

The mind is truly a battlefield. We go wherever it goes. It govern our bodies, and ultimately our actions. This is why people often search for the “motivation” before getting things done, or why you can sit in church and not remember a thing that was preached. This is also the reason the enemy is after your mind. He knows that if he can delay you through procrastination or disobedience, then he can detour you, and eventually derail you so that you will never reach your fullest potential or God’s promises. 

We must remember that Satan has seen the inside of Heaven’s gates. All the glory of eternity that God has promised us; the mansions that Jesus told us about (John 14:2) and the home that He ultimately wants for us. Satan has seen it all. Once he got kicked out, (Revelations 12:9) he became bitter and now his entire job is to keep you from receiving what he knows is real. One major way that he does that is through attacking your mind. Whether subtlety or suddenly, your mind is on his radar. If he can get you to self-destruct, through self-doubt, criticism of yourself or others, depression, anxiety, confusion, separation, and isolation then he knows that he has won. 

But the good news is you have the authority through the blood of Jesus Christ to dismantle, disassemble, and dismember any yoke he tries to use on you. He can only control what you give him access to. Unlike God, the devil is NOT omnipresent. He is not all knowing and all seeing like God is. He cannot read your thoughts. The enemy knows his fate and his only hope he is to steal yours. If it’s one thing that I pray that you remember, it’s that the end of your story is way better than the beginning, or even the middle. 

There is a Heaven to gain and a hell to shun! 

Your mind is truly a weapon. It’s either his weapon against you, or it’s your weapon against him. Like any other muscle in the body, we have to work it out in order to increase its strength. We do this through disciplining our mind. Don’t let it run all over the place freely. Joyce Meyer wrote in her book Battlefield of the Mind “The present moment is the greatest gift from God, but if we are not present, we miss it.” I don’t want to miss out on my life by allowing my mind to wander or wonder and I don’t want you too either. 

“Whoever says to this mountain, Go throw yourself into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 
For this reason, I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.”(Mark 11:23-24)

 I don’t know what the mountain is in your life, whether you just received bad news from a doctor, or got caught up in the legal system, you can speak to your circumstance and change its outcome. Usually, the worse a situation looks on the outside, the more room for God to make a message out of the mess. While we appreciate the education of doctors and lawyers, God has the final say. It’s our job to believe and not doubt. Breaking old habits of worry and anxiety and forming new ones is not easy. Start by consuming less negativity whether it’s through traditional media or social media. Start filling yourself and your environment with more positivity whether it’s through a preached message from YouTube, or calming songs (worship songs are always a good place to start). Again, I know this is not easy. Don’t be afraid to change and grow. Don’t be afraid to evolve into a new you. The enemy’s attempts to sow seeds of confusion or delusion in your mind will not prevail. You have the authority to cast down wicked imagination and command your thoughts to align with Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) Your future self is banking on the decisions you are making today. Remember, in the end, YOU WIN, my friend.

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