Making Up My Mind to Manage My Mind

In Psalm 119:112 I read, “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what." (CEV)

People who learn how to fight the battle in their minds live more effective lives.

If I want to learn to manage my mind, I have to be delivered from destructive thoughts. That isn’t easy because I’m in a battle with three enemies trying to control my thoughts.

The first enemy is my old nature. Paul said in Romans 7:23, “There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (NLT).

I find myself doing things I don’t really want to do? That’s the battle in my mind between my old, sinful nature and my good intentions.

The second enemy is Satan. Satan cannot force me to do anything, but he can make suggestions. Those suggestions are incredibly powerful. He is constantly planting negative thoughts in my mind. He’ll use other people or what I watch on TV, or he’ll just throw a thought in my mind.

The third enemy is the world’s value system. Modern society rarely encourages self-discipline. Advertisements tell you, “I deserve a break today. Have it my way. We do it all for you.”

The Bible says in 1 John 2:16, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (NIV).

With enemies like that, it's no wonder people struggle with discouragement, despair, and failure!

So, how do I fight this battle? Look at what 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says: “Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV).

I have a choice. My mind has to listen to me. God didn’t give me just a mind. He gave me a will too!

The Bible says, “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Psalm 119:112 CEV). The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins.

In summary, I have made up my mind to obey God’s laws forever, no matter what. People who learn how to fight the battle in their minds live more effective lives. If I want to learn to manage my mind, I have to be delivered from destructive thoughts. I’m in a battle with three enemies. The first enemy is my old nature. There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. I find myself doing things I don’t really want to do. The second enemy is Satan. Satan cannot force me to do anything, but he can make suggestions. Those suggestions are incredibly powerful. He’ll use other people or what I watch on TV, or he’ll just throw a thought in my mind. The third enemy is the world’s value system. Modern society rarely encourages self-discipline. How do I fight this battle? Do not wage war as the world does. Demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. I have a choice. My mind has to listen to me. The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins.

God's Word makes me wise, wiser than my enemies and wiser than any teachers who ignore it. True wisdom goes beyond amassing knowledge; it is applying knowledge in a life-changing way. Intelligent or experienced people are not necessarily wise. Wisdom comes from allowing what God teaches to guide me.