by Segun Olumide
Cause 4: BLANKING OF THE MIND
Blanking the mind is an act of emptying the mind of its thoughts, either good or bad.In other words, it is a state of refusing to think of anything. It is a passive and dangerous state of mind because it holds back the ability of the mind to think.You see, God gave us our minds so that we can think good thoughts like Him. If, however, we choose not to think good thoughts, then Satan will pre-occupy us with evil thoughts.I’ve realized that a thoughtless mind is useless to God, but useful to Satan as a dumping ground.You see, if you don’t use your God-given thinking ability, then Satan will force his evil thoughts into your mind so much so that there could be a split personality. From experience, it gets to a point that you may even feel that there are two of you thinking in one mind.
Some people may have interrupted themselves at intervals, “These thoughts are not my thoughts. I am not the one thinking this particular way. It seems there is a strange personality in me or near me injecting his evil thoughts forcefully into my mind, and I feel powerless to resist him."
This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 12:43 – 45, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return to my house from where I came out, and when he is come, he findeth it EMPTY, SWEPT AND GARNISHED. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first…”
Did you notice the word “EMPTY” in verse 44 above? We can conclude from these three verses of scripture that AN EMPTY MIND IS THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP!So you don’t have to empty or blank your mind of its thoughts. Rather you have to guard your mind to think the thoughts of God.Imagine a believer wanting to hear from God, who empties or blanks his mind to sharpen his spiritual sensitivity for accurate reception from God. Rather than hear from God, he will sooner or later hear the tormenting voice of Satan. That’s why some are haunted or disturbed by strange voices.
I know a beloved brother who has been born-again for several years. Yet one of the challenges he is facing is that, if he feels he has done something wrong and wants to confess his sins to receive God’s forgiveness according to 1John1:9, he will make his confession with his mind blank or empty or passive most of the times.Therefore he finds it difficult to have the faith to receive God’s forgiveness of his sins. I strongly believe that blanking weakens faith and sensitivity to God.Instead of by faith, this precious brother is ruled and enslaved by his feelings or emotions because whenever faith is suspended or suppressed, then feelings of the emotions and natural senses of the body takes over!
God’s Remedy for Blanking of Mind
1. Use your mind to think the thoughts of God.
Paul wrote, “… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS … “Neither give place to the devil” (Phil. 4:8, NIV; Eph. 4:27).
2. Let your human will be active in making your decisions. No passive will (Joshua 24:15-16).
Cause 5: REFUSAL TO CONTROL YOUR THOUGHT LIFE or UNCONTROLLED THOUGHT LIFE
The thoughts that come to our minds as believers, for example do not originate there. Rather, they come from four different sources.
One, they may come from our human spirits where the Holy Spirit is [Rom. 8:16].Two, they may also come from our human will. Such thoughts may show good things we desire to do but which God has not put in our human spirits (through his indwelling Holy Spirit) to do [1 Chron. 17:1 – 4].Three, they may also come from the flesh. The Scriptures talk about the work of the flesh in Galatians 5:19 – 21. Sometimes, a believer may not have a demon problem; rather he may only need to keep his flesh under control (1 Cor. 9:27, Rom. 6:12 – 14).Four, they may come from the devil as well (Gen. 3:1 – 7; Mat 4:1 – 11).
Someone might say, “Well, I’m fed up with trying to control my thought life because many times, I have attempted to guard my heart but I have met with disappointment and frustration. Although, I am born-again, yet no one can ever believe that my mind is a helpless slave to powerful, dirty and stinking evil thoughts that dominate and torment my life. I don’t believe I can ever control my own thoughts.”
The good news is: God’s Word provides the answers to all human challenges and questions.
My thought life used to be an extremely great challenge for me, even as a believer and minister, but the truth of God’s Word is making me free progressively (John 8:31 – 32).Occasionally, I still face some minor or major attack on my mind. I have learnt, however, to submit myself to God and resist the devil until he flees from me (James 4:7).
God’s Remedy for Uncontrolled Thought Life
i. Believe you have the authority to control or guard your mind.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) reads, "Above all else, GUARD YOUR HEART for it is the wellspring of life." God won't tell you to guard your mind or heart if he has not given you the power or authority to do so.The first Scripture above says, “Guard your heart …” That implies it is neither God’s responsibility nor your pastor’s duty to guard your heart for you. Rather, it is your sole responsibility to decide what you allow to dwell on and what you allow not to dwell on.So, if you don’t guard you mind, you may lose it to the enemy. That’s why some people today have lost their minds.
But the Scripture says, “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27).That means, the devil will not have a place in your mind or life unless you give it to him. Also Philippians 4:8 shows that you can choose your thinking. Paul wrote in Phil 4:8, “… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS" … It's your responsibility. No one can do that for you.
Again the scripture says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). I have no doubt in my heart that if we refuse to control our thought life, then Satan will mess up our minds. The latter part of this scripture above says, “… bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5b). You see, if you don’t bring your thoughts in captivity to obey Christ, then your thoughts will bring you into captivity to obey Satan and the lusts of the flesh.
The scripture alerts us, “It is the thought life that pollutes” (Mark 7:20, TLB). Actually, man is a spirit who has a soul and dwells in a body. The soul comprises the mind, the emotions and the will. Moreover, the mind is the door to the human spirit while the eyes and ears are the door and window respectively to the mind. Spurgeon C. H. noted in 'John Ploughman's Talk': "We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door but we must not open to them."
ii. When evil thoughts are forcing themselves on your mind, don't struggle with them, just think about something else.
Proverbs 4:20-22 says, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
I learnt this lesson in a hard way. This scripture can be paraphrased as, "Don't pay attention to the words or thoughts of the enemy, Satan. Pay attention only to the words or thoughts of God. "Don't incline your ears to what Satan is saying to you, but only to what the Lord is saying to you. "Don't fix your eyes on Satan's words or thoughts. Don't accommodate them in your heart. But fix your eyes constantly on God's words or thoughts and accommodate them at the centre of your heart. "For the words or thoughts of the enemy are death, problems, sicknesses and diseases to those who find them; but the words or thoughts of God are life, peace, healing and health to those that find them."
Rick Warren's classic book: "Purpose-Driven Life" and Joyce Meyer's wonderful book: "Power Thoughts" may help you further along this line. They have been a great blessing to me!
iii. If they continue, then command the devil to lose his grip over your mind (Jam 4:7).
John Osteen said in his sermon titled 'Guard Your Mind': "The thoughts that disturb you are not your own. They are from an outside source."
iv. Keep your faith confession strong.
When Satan tempted Jesus with evil thoughts three times , the Lord replied with "It is written" three times (Mat 4).
v. Renew your mind daily in the word and prayer (Rom 12:2, Ps 23:1-3).
Make it your habit to use God's word to restore your soul or renew your mind daily by studyingthi it, thinking it, singing it, confessing it, praying it and living it. Don Moen's and Ebenezer Obey's word-based inspired songs among others helped me immensely in those tough days of emotional crisis.
Cause 6: Excessive Emotionalism
The scripture says, “We having the same spirit of faith …" (2 Cor 4:13). One of my favorite verses is: “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord …”(Pro. 20:27). Emotionalism is living by the feelings of your emotions rather than by the faith of your spirit. It is being led by one’s feelings instead of the witness of the Holy Spirit in one’s conscience.
Romans 8:14, 16 reads, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God: The Spirit itself [Himself] bearest witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” This scripture says neither, “As many as are led by their emotions (feelings) are the sons of God” nor “The Spirit bearest witness with our emotions (feelings), that we are God’s children.” You see, since the Holy Spirit lives in our spirit, he leads us primarily through our spirit. And God’s plan is that our spirit through the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit controls our emotions (feelings).
Joyce Meyer understands this well. That was why she titled one of her books, “How To Manage Your Emotions – Without Your Emotions Managing You.”
Before you can master your emotions properly you must differentiate between conscience and emotions, as well as learn how to follow your conscience. Paul wrote, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 9:1). Notice that his conscience, not his feelings (emotions), was bearing him witness in the Holy Ghost. The Greek word translated ‘conscience’ is ‘suneidesis.' According to Dr Vine’s Greek Dictionary, it literally means “a knowing, a co-knowledge with one’s self, the witness borne to one’s conduct by conscience."He further explained the conscience as that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives. You see, man is actually a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. If you dissect the human spirit, you would find the conscience there, and if you dissect the human soul, you would find the mind, emotions and will there. Moreover, dissecting the human body gives us flesh, bones, blood and so on.
For some years, as a believer, I followed my emotions and neglected my conscience. Worst still, I tried hard to follow other people’s conscience. You know, emotionalism will make you place your feelings above reason and reality as somebody wrote. It is not wrong to have emotions but it is dangerous for emotions to have you. I observed that it rendered my faith, conscience and love (agape) powerless, ineffective and weak. One of the greatest challenges I had along this line was with 1 John 1:9, “If we can confess our sins, and he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Before I got born-again, I remember that I had little challenge with emotionalism. I depended on or gave too much attention to my feelings. It seems I read my books in school, at times, with my emotions, rather than with just my mind. I struggled with that scripture because whenever I thought I had done something wrong and I tried to confess it in order to receive God’s forgiveness, I would not feel forgiven in my emotions. So rather than listen to my conscience and follow it, I would confess the same sin over and over again. This made me super sin conscious because I could confess a sin five to ten times.
Another scripture I struggled with for a long time was 1 John 3:19 – 21, "By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate and pacify) our hearts in His presence."
"Whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands] for He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts) and knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him]."
"And, beloved, if our conscience (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God” (AMP).
I had great difficulty with this second scripture because many times my emotions or feelings would condemn me whereas deep down in my conscience I sensed no condemnation. You see, a believer should not become sad because he feels sad. Neither should he accept those false condemnations because he feels condemned. Though, most times, I accepted those false condemnations, nevertheless, I am fully persuaded now that most of them were from the accuser of the brethren, Satan.
Satan projects false accusations or condemnations into a believer’s mind. Then his mind transfers it to his emotions unless his spirit is strong enough to intercept it immediately. Even when it’s not intercepted immediately, then he can only be bold not to accept such condemnation if he has trained his spirit to distinguish what comes from the conscience from what proceeds from the emotions through the mind. That’s why Heb. 5:14 says, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
But once we learn to master our emotions, they will be governed by our consciences. Only then can our emotions be a great help, not a great hindrance to our lives and ministries or assignments. From my study and experience, I understand that excessive emotionalism can cause nervous illness, just as nervous illness can cause it. A similar thing applies to almost all other causes of nervous, emotional or mental illness.
God’s Remedy for Excessive Emotionalism
Develop a strong human spirit.
Proverbs 18:14 says, "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Infirmity here could be bodily, mental, emotional or spiritual; but it is your spirit that sustains your infirmity. What if your spirit is broken, wounded, weak or crushed? Then you are in trouble! That's why you need to develop an unbreakable, uncrushable, strong spirit. You see, the human spirit comprises conscience, intuition and communion; the human soul consists of mind, emotions and will; while the human body is made up of flesh, bones, blood and water. So a strong spirit connotes a strong conscience, intuition and communion.
Friend, if your life is governed by your emotions you will be miserable. If it is, governed by a good conscience, your life will be marvelous and peaceful. Learn to follow your conscience, intuition and communion. Don't follow your emotions or feelings. Joyce Meyer noted, “You can feel wrong and do what is right." That means you can have wrong emotions or feelings welling up within you and ignore them to follow your conscience or intuition to do what is right.
I learnt from Joyce Meyer that when you have a wrong emotion or bad feeling like anger because someone has offended you or got on your nerves, you should not feel condemned or guilty because it is not a sin to have a feeling of anger or being upset. The Bible says, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27, see also Psalms 4:4).
The AMP Bible renders it thus: "When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]." The NLT version puts this verse as, 'And "don't sin by letting anger control you. "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger [I believe if it persists and controls you and leads to sin] gives a foothold to the devil.' So don't let Satan condemn you by making you think that you shouldn't be feeling this way!
Joyce pointed out that Jesus experienced such feelings or emotions while he was here on earth, but he did not sin!
Hebrews 4:15 (AMP) reveals, "For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have A SHARED FEELING with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning."
Segun Olumide is an apostolic leader at the Glorious Family Church International and the New Apostolic Movement both in Lagos, Nigeria. He has a mandate to align the church with God's purpose.
All scripture quotations are mostly from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
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