Biblical psychology: the mystery of the human mind

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (Ephesians 4:18, KJV)

I introduced the concept of “biblical psychology” a few days ago. It is digging into the scriptures to learn what God has said about the operation of our inner life, chiefly the mind. Let me discuss the spirituality of the human mind today.

The mind, in general, has a bad reputation with us Christians. It has been labeled as evil, “psychic”, carnal,…you name it. Left to some Christians, God should perform spiritual surgery and remove the mind from them so that their spirits can continue to live. Nothing can be further from the truth. Many of us have not yet discovered the profound spirituality of the human mind. This is so deep I can only scratch the surface in this devotional. Let me quickly share two mysterious workings of the human mind. Let us begin from Eph. 4:18 above.

The scripture says the understanding(mind) of the Gentiles was darkened so that they could not know God and because of this blindness or ignorance, they were alienated, separated or cut off from the life of God. I want to ensure you understood what you just read. Their minds could not understand the knowledge of God and as a result they were cut off from God. It tells you the mind carries the ability to separate or connect us to the life of God. In case this seems to be too much for you, Paul says in Romans, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6, KJV). This means the mind that is set on the things of the flesh produces death in a person’s life while a mind set on the things of the Spirit produces life(..connects to God’s life). This is the power of the human mind. 

The second mystery of the human mind is that it is like a lighthouse that determines the directions the entire heart will follow, such as the emotions or desires. Whatever you keep in your mind will determine the course of your emotions. The mind carries the ability to focus or be set on certain things. You can set your mind on the things of God or set your mind on the things of the world. The choice is yours. However, whatever you set your mind on will determine what your emotions will do.

A quick example to illustrate this point will help. If somebody hurts you and you think about what that person did constantly, each time that person is in your mind( your mind is set or focused on them), death will fill your heart. Death means sorrow, bitterness, hate, resentment, and it may possibly cause the smile on their face to vanish, etc. Yes, your mind carries that power.

You will discover why the Lord repeatedly cautions us to set our minds on the things above( Col. 3:1-2, Phil. 4:6-8). The mind is extremely spiritual. The reason why many of us have labelled it as evil is because we have used it in an evil or fleshly way. The mind is like a tool, which will do whatever you want it to do. If you set it on the flesh, it will produce death. If you set it on the Spirit, it will produce life. Isa. 26:3 says God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. If you want peace( life), watch what you allow on your thoughts and keep your mind on  God. Let me say this here: there are some of you who have sadly cut off the operation of the Spirit of God because of the things you keep in your mind. The Spirit needs your mind. I am serious! He needs the spiritual mind to produce the life of God in full expression in your life. Pay attention to your mind!

MEDITATE

Every single one of our devotionals has this subtle of “meditate”. The first part means to set your mind and give it time to think on the Word of God. Now you understand why. Make this a habit, and watch what happens to your life!

APPLY THE WORD

Please do not pray that the Lord should remove your mind. He needs your mind. Rather pray that the Spirit will help you set your mind on the things of the Spirit, that is, have a spiritual mind. Watch what you keep on your mind. Do not imagine for a second that it does not matter. Thinking about God is one of the most spiritual things you are doing, even though you might not have realized it.

PRAY

Ask the Spirit to give you a personal revelation of what I have attempted to squeeze in the devotional above. 

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