The Captive Mind

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior." 
Colossians 1:21 (NIV)

What if your biggest spiritual battle isn't happening in your circumstances—it's happening between your ears?

In human anatomy, the brain is command central for the entire body. Every action, response, and impulse originates right there. But your brain isn't just a mental organ; it's a spiritual organ. Your thoughts have spiritual components. You cannot separate the spiritual from the mental, the emotional, and the physical, because they're all woven together.

Before you come to Jesus, your mind is enemy-held territory. Paul writes in today’s verse that you were "alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior." God is on one side of the line and your mind is on the other. But when you become a follower of Jesus, God moves in and takes control. He wants to guide not only where you go, but how you think.

That's why you've got to make up your mind about your mind, and make your mind, well, mind.

This week, you might feel anxious at 3 AM, but don't let your mind run wild. Say out loud: "Mind, you will think on what is true. God, take command central right now." Use God’s Word as your primary defense: "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) When you take action like this, you're letting God’s Word and His thoughts guide your mind instead of letting your mind guide you.

The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your mind—and that starts by letting Him command it.

Prayer: Father, thank You for my mind. I confess my mind has been enemy territory for too long. Take command central today, Lord. When anxious thoughts attack, remind me that You've given me power over my thinking. Guide my mind with Your truth and Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.