If the mind—what for the most part governs functioning and behavior—is to be the third antidote to ‘fear’, it has to be healthy (sound). Conversely, ‘fear’ is able to markedly affect the mind, to influence memory, mindsets, thoughts, intents, and imaginations. Adversely affecting it on conscious and subconscious levels so it becomes dysfunctional. When a standard strategy in war is the disruption of ‘command and control centers’, it should surprise no one to find the mind as a
‘critical infrastructure’ is a prime target for the enemy of our souls.
THE BATTLEGROUND
‘Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ (2Cor. 10.5) The challenge of overcoming ‘the world, the flesh, and the devil’ is one every believer has; an ongoing battle primarily waged in the mind and centered on controlling thoughts contrary to what is good, honest, and pure. When ‘fear’ is injected into this conflict, true peace of mind is now a remote possibility. To see this extra burden result in a neurosis (mild personality disorder) or even a psychosis should surprise no one.
It is clear, a mind troubled by ‘fear’ must never be ignored.
Finding the answer to any ‘dis-ease’ it suffers should be made a priority, but the solution must be more than theoretical. At a minimum, able in practice to nullify the mental processes 100
feeding the ‘fear’, and this necessitates it must at least include washing the mind with ‘ the water of the Word’ (Eph 4.23).
Absent its ‘reprogramming’ by the living word of God and the chance of it being ‘sound’ is almost zero. But to satisfy this protocol requires more than the mere reading of Scripture. Time must be given to mindful contemplation and meditation of the biblical text if it is to yield truths capable of erasing the mind’s
‘hard drive’ of garbage. This ‘chewing the cud’ to digest its truths must be a regular, ongoing habit. (See Eph 4.23) But for the mind is to be truly buttressed from ‘fear’, it must also be ‘girded’; aa Peter points out, a ‘girding’ to ensure it is
‘s ober and prepared’ (1Pet 1.13). In the main, so passivity and complacency (children of apathy) don’t sabotage the mind’s ability to stop harassing thoughts. But also, so it can manage the concerns it has about people, circumstances, the future, and even about God; all legitimate worries, yet the fertile ground ‘fear’
loves to hijack. When ‘ungirded’, the mind imagines any number of unwarranted outcomes (See 1Cor 16.13), many of them paranoid. It demands high vigilance, therefore, if ‘fear’ is not to inject thoughts of mistrust, skepticism, cynicism, and unbelief into what are only possibilities (not probabilities). All thoughts engendering ‘fear’, and if coupled with greed, able to make us miserly, even given to hoarding. But they can also disrupt a life by breeding rebellion towards authorities and this includes God, or, then again, it might only be the lesser outcomes of indecision, procrastination, or the compulsive drive to perform.
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Now, I admit, a ‘sound mind’ usually comes at a significant cost, nonetheless, it is mandatory to win the battle with ‘fear’. If these issues are a problem at all, don’t ignore them. Put the strategies into practice I will lay out and you have real keys to achieving victory in this ‘theater of war’. Just remember, though, they only work as outlined with help from the Holy Spirit. To be truly effective, you must rely on Him.
WHAT IS A SOUND MIND?
What does it mean, then, to have a ‘sound mind’ (2Tim 1.7)?
The Greek for this is ‘ sophronismos’ (Str 4995) and it means to
‘ save the mind’; hence, other versions translate it as ‘self-control’, self-discipline’, ‘wise discretion’, ‘self-restraint’, or
‘sound judgment’. A working definition, then, is, ‘to have the mind under self-control so all its activity is balanced and sober, not unrestrained or intemperate (extreme). The bottom line: a sound mind is one devoid of irrational, undisciplined, or reckless thinking; healthy (sound) because an effort was made to discipline it, to deny it dysfunctional thinking so it is ‘tamed’!
Unless it is under severe demonic attack, the mind should never allow fearful thoughts to lay siege to it. Now you may think this is impossible; yours is in such chaos, a calm, orderly mind seems out of the question. Not true! It is eminently possible, indeed, critical for your freedom from ‘fear’. Don’t believe those who say otherwise!
With the right strategies to control it, your mind can be at peace. If this appears overly optimistic, I can only say, by experience I found it to be true. In the main, because the Holy Spirit made the difference; His enabling makes it possible. It is 102
why many people in the Bible were told to ‘fear not’ (e.g. Mark 5.26), urged to stop fearing because the third person of the Trinity gives the where-with-all for this. It is why you too don’t need to be afraid.
IT IS YOUR DECISION
The all-important question to answer honestly is, ‘Do I want a sound mind’? An odd question to ask, you say! It might seem so, but necessary when so many (believers included) are happy with a dysfunctional mind catering to lies, propaganda, and paranoid and delusional fantasies. Retreating into irrational, bizarre thinking can be strangely comforting when struggling to cope with painful realities. But if your answer to wanting a
‘sound mind’ is ‘yes’, then half the battle is over. I say half because the fight to achieve it will usually be long and arduous.
Fearful thoughts can be persistent, stubbornly resisting demolition; stopping their harassment, then, is not like taking a painkiller for instant relief from a painful muscle. It means you are not to be discouraged if at the start there is only minimal success in employing the strategies. Only a determined effort over the long haul will give the outcome you desire and that desire must also be strong enough to put in what will amount to a substantial effort. Be assured, though, the strategies here for a
‘sound mind’ do work—I proved it—and complete victory over fearful thoughts is possible.
The first strategy and perhaps the most important is restoring the ‘will’ (faculty of volition) to its rightful place and function.
Much dysfunction of the mind is due to a passive, inactive 103
‘will’. To have control over ‘stinking thinking’ fueling ‘fear’, requires you to commit to remedying a lazy ‘will’, one left in
‘idle’. The thoughts you entertain should only be those a fully engaged ‘will’ has allowed. Yes, it is impossible to stop unwanted thoughts from‘ flying over’, but an active ‘will’
prevents them ‘building a nest’.
Incidentally, it means you can’t demand to be protected from bad tidings or tragic news. If news elicits anxiety, the problem is not those sharing but an asleep gatekeeper (the ‘will’). Now, some news can so unsettle, it initially disorientates, making it difficult to handle the shock. But the ‘fear’ you are left with depends on the ‘will’ stopping the brooding over it. The bottom line: no one can avoid disquieting news but it is possible to stop
‘fear’ hijacking the input and extending the pain past what is reasonable.
Now, some thoughts so overwhelm, controlling their aftermath can seem impossible. Fearful thoughts certainly give the impression they can freely distress, but this lie is designed to sap your confidence about what can be achieved. You don’t have to believe it! No matter how insistent the thoughts are, a healthy ‘will’—activated and in gear—can deal with the intruders. It all boils down to this ‘gateway’ being alert enough to prevent the thoughts from taking up residence. A ‘will’
vigilant and on ‘sentry duty’—awake to any invasion—
circumvents much of this battle. The ‘serpent’ only gained entry into Eden to tempt (Gen 2.15) because Adam and Eve’s failed in a core responsibility of theirs to guard the gate to the Garden.
Incidentally, by Eve engaging in conversation with ‘satan’ its 104
seductive talk gave her much ‘food for thought’. To have given it ‘the time of day’ in the first place was foolish.
As indicated, not every thought can be stopped at the ‘gate’; they can rush in and overpower in traumatic situations. But these should be exceptions, not the rule, and if they do ‘gate-crash’, thrown out as soon as detected so they don't become ‘squatters’.
The bottom line; the resolve to rein in unwanted intruders must be a top priority. Now, I’m sure you realize all fearful thinking will not stop to begin with. War with these intruders is won over time, possibly a lengthy one, and certainly not before the forces of ‘fear’ have tested if the resolve to take command of the mind is serious.
All that remains now is to detail more practical strategies to achieve a ‘sound mind’. Now, all these will require effort on your part so they become habits, not merely ideas. None are effective without diligent application and practice. Keep focused, then, on the long-term results, not on the fierce battles to reach there. This is all you can reasonably expect, especially if for many years the mind has been enemy territory.
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