A RATIONAL MIND
‘That you be NOT soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word.’ (2Thes 2.2) If nothing else, a
‘sound mind’ is rational—its thoughts logical, coherent, and balanced. Many think otherwise, imagining their absurd thoughts are ‘spiritual’, from above. But such irrational thinking is out of order, without value, and needs to be jettisoned as it only invites ‘fear’.
Not long after giving my life to serve Christ, I would wake up in the night with my mind pounded like a drum by ‘religious’
thoughts. Only managing to fall back into a fitful sleep most often after promising to obey these spiritual ‘leadings’. To be more specific, radical notions about preaching the gospel that I was convinced were orders from God. Hence, I failed to reject them, and a lapse on my part perhaps because I imagined myself as the intrepid evangelist in the situations the ‘visitations’
suggested—it appealed to my ego! I even seriously entertained preaching the gospel in some of the radical settings suggested, the street corner at my local shops and on the bus while traveling to my studies at pharmacy college.
It was only later I realized these night visits were an attempt by demonic forces to deceive, a trap set by the kingdom of darkness. One I should have recognized much earlier as it certainly was not reasonable or probable that a wise heavenly Father would expect a timid, young teenager like me, with a 106
serious speech impediment, to do such radical preaching. This alone should have alerted me to the evil source behind the
‘visitations’. Now, not long before this traumatic episode I had read the book ‘Rees Howells Intercessor’; the biography of a spiritual giant led by God to do extraordinary things, and in my naivete, I must have figured the Lord would do the same for me.
I certainly had a strong desire to emulate Mr. Howells’ ministry and had often prayed to be supernaturally led by the Holy Spirit like him.
It was certainly a great relief to be alerted to the reality of a lying spirit behind the visitations as they were not pleasant.
Indeed, I was becoming more afraid with each one; again, not in any way characteristic of a loving Father God. Fortunately, I knew what had to be done after discovering their origin—I was to rebuke it. Praise God; after forcefully repeating my rebuke over several nights, the deceiving spirit never troubled me again.
The bottom line; this sorry ordeal would never have happened if I had known what I share next.
The mind is fundamentally rational, this is its ‘default’
position. (cf. 1Cor 14.40) Now, daydreaming, imagination, intuition, and other non-rational inputs are legitimate, but because of subjectivity must be given much less weight in any deliberation. But also inherently untrustworthy as they easily become colored with bias, preconceptions, and misinterpretation, if not outright deception. Rational thoughts can also be biased, but generally are far more objective and reliable, and an important distinction in light of the current emphasis on nonrational ‘creativity’. This trend with its 107
proneness to draw inspiration from the supra-natural realm has opened the door for dark forces to affect the creative arts.
Especially of concern now that it has bled over to influence much of education, marketing, advertising, movies, etc.. Many modern songs, music, films, photography, and paintings also draw their inspiration from the occult realm, thus allowing demonic forces much greater license to harass with fearful thoughts. Especially when this is coupled with mind-altering new-age techniques promoted by eastern ‘meditation’, ‘yoga’, or similar.
But a caution also applicable to ‘prophetic’ input. Spiritual dreams, visions, and the ‘voice’ of the Holy Spirit are also inherently subjective and must be judged to assess if it is rational and sensible (See 1Thess.5.20,21)—Paul says, ‘decent and in order’ (1Cor 14.40). Lacking this assessment, it is dangerous to put unquestioning faith in ‘intuitive input’ as a source of guidance. And even if emotions and the witness of the
‘spirit’—human and divine—are valid in judging prophecy, rational assessment must predominate.
Now, the exception to the above statements is a strong leading of the Holy Spirit with solid confirmation, but even then, this demands a degree of rational inspection. A biblical principle too many have disregarded to take radical ‘leaps of faith’ on very slender ‘leadings’, many of them illogical or absurd. The result has mostly been shame and reproach, both to them and the Lord’s name. Taking radical steps ‘in faith’,e.g.
throwing away life-saving medication is a favorite trap of the 108
devil, especially for the ‘super spiritual’ believer compensating for low self-esteem.
Such ‘leaps of faith’ can even fall into the category of ‘sins of presumption’, trying both the Lord’s patience and His providential care. A trap the apostle Paul warned of by referring to the time Israel ‘over tested’ (1Cor 10.9) the Lord. The Greek word there is not the usual one but a strengthened form meaning to ‘thoroughly or excessively test’. (The same word in Jesus saying, “not put the Lord your God to the test” (Lk 4.12
NASB).) The important lesson from this: don’t rely on unproven
‘leadings’ unable to stack up rationally if you don’t want to suffer needless ‘fear’. In general, rational logic is to guide, and to go outside this dictum should be rare and then only because of extra-ordinary guidance from above. Those battling ‘fear’, then, cannot even afford to entertain bizarre conspiracy theories or possible future scenarios of world disasters, including the speculations advanced by alarmists and scaremongers about the
‘end-times’. A rational approach to controversial topics such as these serves everyone well.
Now, this cautionary advice needs the balance of the warning in Scripture about not trusting in the ‘understanding’
(Prov 3.5) or rational mind. Bowing down at the altar of rational thought so we regard it as the most trusted source of truth makes us fall into the ditch on the other side of the road. But overall, rational thought is to be given its place, an important one, and it only courts ‘fear’ to overthrow this divine order. The irrational thoughts of the nighttime visits certainly resulted in more ‘fear’
for me. To contemplate standing up to preach the gospel to a 109
busload of commuters was frightening enough, but the visits brought new fears to cope with. The fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, and the fear of punishment if I disobeyed the
‘leadings’. Now, God is not the author of ‘fear’ or confusion, so this fresh ‘fear’ should have alerted me to the deception, but I was a ‘baby’ Christian at the time, naive and ignorant of the enemy's devices.
If ‘intuitive’ input dominates your mind, you have no other option but to be more careful. If you want a ‘sound mind’ free from certain fears and it truly is a problem, why not ask the Holy Spirit to restore proper function to your mind—starting with disciplined thinking. But also take inventory to see if you are subscribing to what are unfounded speculations, mindsets, beliefs, or mental constructs. If so, throw them out. At the very least, file away for future reference anything you believe might eventually prove to be true. A sound mind is nothing if not a rational mind.
AN ORDERLY MIND
‘Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear’
(Psa 56:3-4) While a logical mind gives one level of defense, proper order fortifies it against ‘fear’ even more. When both (logic and order) govern, ‘fear’ is robbed of confusion and disorganization, two agents it uses to disrupt the mind. When we know strong ‘law and order’ serve a nation’s citizens best, it is easy to see this also applies to the mind. Free of these disruptors, the mind becomes ‘sounder’, without unnecessary anxiety.
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In the above text, the psalmist says ‘I will not fear’. That is, he exercised his ‘will’ to overcome the ‘fear’, thus reinforcing the importance of an engaged ‘will’ for the mind to be ‘in order’. David’s was in order because he decided not to let the fear overpower. (He also chose to put his trust in God). Why do I labor this point of the ‘will’ governing? Because we moderns have elevated emotions to this function; they now have ‘god status’ and if it ‘feels good’ we are meant to do it! A usurping of the ‘will’ as the legitimate 'governor' sabotaging the chance of winning the war with ‘fear’. Charles Finney, the famous evangelist, understood this when he said 'pure religion resides in the will’.
It is common sense: ‘fear’ will always try to hijack the emotions as the weak link. An engaged ‘will’ on the other hand can control any emotions that could lead to fear, panic, and even hysteria. To stop an intruder once they are inside your house is far harder than when still trying to enter. If the ‘will’ can stop
‘fear’ from getting a 'foot hold’, half the battle is over. In fact, it is not only self-defeating to allow feelings to rule in place of the
‘will’, it is the sin of omission. If you have allowed this
‘disorder’, make sure to commit to remedying this by re-educating the mind; usually a long process, so don’t be impatient or discouraged at how painfully slow it is. When ‘fear’
struck, it certainly was not easy for me to learn to ‘gird up’ the mind so I chose what thoughts to entertain. But I knew I had to master this step if ‘fear’ was not to paralyze in the battle.
Now, in saying, “let not your heart be troubled” (John 14.1), Jesus confirmed you can control ‘fear’. With the help of the 111
Holy Spirit, it means you have the authority and responsibility to
‘let not’ ‘fear’ take control. In other words, you determine what
‘ troubles’ you. But to do this, the mind must be in proper working order to control what enters. And if this seems impossible, fret not; it is entirely achievable once the ‘will’ is fulfilling its role as governor. A final thought: once restored, make sure you utilize it!
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