Christian Living
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7 NKJV
My definition of a sound mind is a mind that is at peace; free of worry, fear, anxiety. A mind capable of good and rational thinking thinking. A wise mind.
The mind is the part of a person that deals with reasoning, intellect, emotions and feelings. Sometines, the brain (or the heart) is regarded as the mind of man. This is often disputed especially by theologians and bible teachers who opine that the brain cannot be interchangeably used for the mind as the former is a physical thing while the later is not. Scientifically, the part of the human body that controls feelings, intellect, emotions is the brain.
God created man as a perfectly rational being; with the capacity to think, reason and understand himself and others. In Genesis 2:19-20, we see Adam successfully naming every beast of the field and every bird of the air that God created. Adam had a clear thinking mind devoid of evil, until he let the enemy in through sin.
Can the Mind Be Unsound?
So assuming we were to interchange mind with brain, science teaches that an intensively damaged brain becomes incapacitated. One way brain damage is expressed is as irrational behavior.
In Genesis chapter 4, Cain wasn’t exactly diagnosed with a brain damage, however he displayed a distorted thinking pattern by murdering his brother Abel.
“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord . Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Genesis 4:3-8 NKJV
God warned Cain not to let sin (evil) into his heart…
“……And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
God said Cain had the capacity to rule over the desire to kill.
So the reason Cain displayed an irrational and unsound mind was he let evil in. He let evil rule over him. He allowed evil ride on his feelings, emotions, thoughts. Cain’s reaction to Abel wasn’t just ungodly, but also shows he felt insecure, vulnerable, unaccepted, unloved, unworthy and belittled.
As a Child of God, you have been accepted in the beloved (Ephesians1:6), relax and enjoy a sound mind.
A young lady wrote me recently sounding rather very desperate and disturbed. She said all she was thinking about was how to commit suicide. Now, that’s Satan sitting right over someone’s shoulder and speaking gibberish. Resist him and he’ll flee. Which is exactly what we did with this lady. I checked on her a few days again and yes, she’s still alive, liberated and free. Halleluyah!
Rule Over Your Mind
Every Christian has a recreated spirit and can therefore determine what happens in his mind.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
“We received the Spirit that is from God, not the spirit of the world. We received God’s Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us.”
1 Corinthians 2:12 ERV
A Christian can rule over his mind by consistently feeding his spirit with the Word, that way his spirit has dominance over his mind. He can determine his thoughts (Philippians 4:8), and he can control how he responds to life issues (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Jesus gave us peace. He gave us His peace. The seed of peace was planted in our spirit when we got born again. We are to let the fruit of this seed rule us. (Galatians 5:22).
Enjoy a sound mind, let peace rule.
Receive Jesus’s Peace
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27 NKJV
Peace is a gift from Jesus; accept it. Receive the peace that Jesus gives.
Confession
Thank You Lord Jesus for the peace that You give. I receive Your peace and I live in and enjoy a sound mind. I live a life free of worry, fear and anxiety. I declare that I have the spirit of love, of power and of a sound mind in Jesus name. Amen.
