Absolutely Alive: Know your mind - 22 July 2024

At home, we have an old clock that has become increasingly temperamental with age; it sometimes ‘gets confused’ and chimes the wrong number of times at a given hour, or it may continue ticking without chiming at all; worst, though, is when it stops for no good reason, which is annoying, because we can’t trust it to do what it was made for, which has repercussions for us. I’ve concluded that it’s got a mind of its own and needs attention!

But what of our minds?

If it’s confused like our clock, it’s problematic because it’s there that we wage many battles, the outcomes of which can affect us deeply for many years. We therefore need a healthy mind that will stand up to testing times and remain firm. If we aren’t firmly grounded, in these times we will be shaken and fall; but when we’re grounded in God, he keeps us firm. But it begins in the mind.

The mind, usually the target of an attack, is fertile soil in which we cultivate positive and negative thoughts, depending on what we feed it, which affect our feelings and actions. Once reason is defeated the mind is vulnerable and can succumb on any level, whether to something relatively innocuous like shrewd advertising, or something tragic, like the moral, spiritual or physical destruction of a life.

King Saul was a case in point. He promoted David after greatly admiring his superb courage in killing Goliath; but jealousy crept in when, as they returned from battle, “the women came out … to meet King Saul with singing and dancing … As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:6-7 NIV).

Experienced warrior though Saul was, he didn’t recognise the warning signs of this internal battle. Trapped in his own pride, he’d alienated himself from God by choosing to disobey God’s instructions and do things his own way; he was losing the plot and needed God’s help

First, he was “very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly” (1 Samuel 18:8), then “jealous” (1 Samuel 18:9) then “an evil spirit … came forcefully upon Saul” (1 Samuel 18:10) and then “he hurled [a spear] saying to himself, ‘I’ll pin David to the wall.’ But David eluded him twice.” (1 Samuel 18:11) Fear of David led to Saul trying to kill him, all the time becoming more manic, until it became a tragic running battle that he couldn’t win. The irony was that David, true to God, and himself, remained loyal to Saul to the end, even when he could’ve killed him.

We can’t turn away from God and think that we’ll be able to keep control of our minds and lives, no matter how well we may think we’re doing: “Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8b, GNT)

But “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)

Prayer: Lord God, make me strong in obedience to you. Replace my fear with your spirit of power, love and a sound mind through Jesus Christ my Saviour. Amen