The Importance Of The Mind

As he thinks within himself, so he is.
–Proverbs 23:7

The brain is command central for our entire body. Every thought, every impulse, and every action originates with the brain. But we also know from Scripture that our minds are more than a mass of tissue and blood cradled in our cranium. There is a spiritual component to our minds as well as a physiological component. When God created you, He created you body, soul (that is your mind, your will, and your emotion), and spirit (your God-consciousness). In fact our body, soul, and spirit are so interconnected that somebody has said, “When one catches a cold, the other sneezes.” That is why there is no such thing as a purely psychological issue that does not have a spiritual or physical component. Likewise, there is not a spiritual issue that does not in some way affect your psychological or even physical well-being.

Body, soul, and spirit are interconnected, but our mind is where everything originates. The writers of Scripture understood that even better than we do. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks within himself, so he is.” In other words, you are what you think. Your thoughts shape your life and your destiny.

Think about the major decisions of your life and how they all originated with a thought. For example, at some point you said to yourself, “I think I want to go to this university, or this trade school, and I want to major in this subject.” Did that affect your future? Of course it did. Or think about your vocation. At some point you said, “I think I enjoy this and I would like to make this my career for the rest of my life.” Or think about your family. At some point you said, “I think I love this person and I want to marry him or her and spend the rest of our lives together.” Even your salvation began with a thought: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and I am trusting in Him for my salvation.” The decisions we make that shape our destiny all begin in the mind.

Our thoughts not only determine the major decisions we make but even the minor decisions we make every day. What we put on, what we eat, whether we exercise, what route we take to work, what books we read–all of those choices that begin in the mind shape your life and ultimately your destiny. You are what you think. No wonder, then, that if Satan wants to gain influence over your life, the primary way he does it is through your mind.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Winning The Mind Games” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2010.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.