The Battle for Your Mind
By Rick Warren
“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” Romans 8:5 (NLT)
There is a battle going on inside you between your old, sinful nature and your new nature that comes from Christ. If you want to win this battle, you’re going to have to change the way you think.
Why? The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you act depressed, it’s because you feel depressed. And if you feel depressed, it’s because you’re thinking depressing thoughts. If you want to get out of that depression, or whatever issue you’re struggling with, you need to ask the Holy Spirit to give you better thoughts.
When Satan gives you thoughts, that’s temptation. But when God gives you thoughts, that’s inspiration. Which are you going to choose? Romans 8:6 says, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (NLT).
I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t choose life and peace over death. But the truth is you have self-destructive thoughts all the time. So what do you do?
Here’s how the Holy Spirit can free you from uncontrolled thoughts: It’s the principle of replacement. If you want to change something in your life, don’t resist that thing; instead, replace it.
If you’re watching television and a show comes on that you know is bad for you, change the channel to something better. If you want to quit smoking but you keep thinking about cigarettes, change your focus to something else. The Bible says you have to replace the old mindset with the new mindset.
You can even ask the Holy Spirit to give you new ideas to think about that will replace the old, bad thoughts. You’ll find that he’ll answer your request. And when you start thinking about something positive instead of something negative, something good instead of something evil, the old will lose its appeal and won’t have its allure anymore.
So invite the Holy Spirit to have free access to your mind to help replace those uncontrolled thoughts. Ask something like this: “Dear Holy Spirit, I give you permission to give me thoughts any time you want. I’m wide open and I will accept them. I have an open mind to you.”
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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