Loving God With All Your Mind
So much talk about poor mental health, but so little talk on how we are to love God will ALL of our mind, which should be the starting point of improving and sustaining mental health! Little do people know that the Bible gives us the perfect recipe of how we are to think effectively. It starts with first understanding how we are to apply the Greatest Commandment, to love God with all of our heart, with all our soul, and with all of our mind. You see, loving God with all your mind, is more than just saying to yourself, “you love God.” It’s way more complex than that. Loving God with all of your mind has everything to do with what you do with your mind, what you do with your thoughts, and how you prioritize God mentally. Mental health is plaguing so many people today because they lack the ability to control and compartmentalize their thoughts. Instead, their thoughts control them and consume them to the extent that it leads to all kinds of mental disorders. To make matters even worse, many resort to pharmaceuticals to calm their own thoughts because they can’t do it themselves.
Trust me, I know what’s it’s like to be controlled by your thoughts as I’ve had my own fair share of battles with PTSD, OCD, anxiety, panic depression, and addictions of all kinds of drugs and pills. My thoughts were whipping me left and right, and it really boiled down to my lack of understanding what the Scriptures said about how I should love God with all of my mind, how I should think, and how I should counteract my own stinking thinking. Yet, as I continued to mature in faith and began to really understand the magnitude of how to apply the Word of God, especially in my thought process, the stronghold of poor mental health evaporated over time. Surprisingly, there are many verses of Scripture that references how a believer should think that if examined and practiced accordingly would equip every believer for the mental battle all confront on a daily basis.
Let’s consider some of those verses outlined in Scripture:
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The first key to improved mental health is not to be conformed by the patterns of the world. Unfortunately, the things of the world, social media, internet, along with negative influences from all kinds of sources have conformed and controlled the minds of God’s people, and many are unaware of it and are in denial. Paul commands the church to be transformed by the renewing of your mind through the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The sad reality is that many believers have come to believe in the Lord as their personal Savior, but are still thinking the exact same way they thought before they found Christ. Their minds haven’t been transformed, their minds haven’t been reprogrammed by the Holy Spirit, they haven’t changed their thought process, they haven’t learned the spiritual discipline of controlling their thoughts, and or they are not specifically praying that the Spirit would transform their mind. Believe it or not, true repentance, is having a “change” of thought, having a change of mind regarding who God is and regarding their sinful lifestyle, which includes how they thought about their own sin.
1 Corinthians 2:16-17 says, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
You see, one of the major objectives for every believer is to obtain the mind of Christ. Meaning, to adopt and attain the same mindset, the same attitude, and the same Spirit of Christ that is consistent with the Gospel, the powerful Word of God. To test this in theory, every believer is required to measure and analyze their thoughts and compare them to the Scriptures to identify if their thinking is right or wrong. For instance, if a person is struggling with thoughts of suicide, thoughts of hopelessness, or thoughts that invite fear, negativity, anxiety, etc., is this type of thinking consistent with how Jesus thought, or how any of the disciples thought? If not, then how can a person realign their thoughts back on track? Well, there are several verses that speak on how a believer can think the right way.
2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”
Paul briefly gives the church insight into how he prepares himself for the spiritual war that every believer faces in this life. The primary line of defense Paul uses that has divine power to demolish strongholds is the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the enablement of the Holy Spirit to capture every thought and make them obedient to Christ. This verse in itself if applied in the life of a believer is a powerful recipe that will guarantee fruitful thinking! The reason why many are struggling in this department of mental health is simply because they are not capturing every single thought that comes in and out of their mind. Nor are they counteracting those negative thoughts by either expelling them completely out of their mind, by examining those thoughts to Scripture, or simply just changing the channel to their mind as a person would change the channel to their TV’s whenever they are watching something they do not like. Part of loving God with all your mind is by how a believer controls their thoughts, how they make those thoughts obedient to Christ, and by not allowing their thoughts and their feelings to control them.
In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul says, “DO NOT be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Many times, believers just quote the word as some sort of cliche, but in the heat of the moment do not apply the Word. How often is this verse quoted and yet not put into practice??? How often do believers when they worry about something actually apply this verse that commands the people of God, “DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING?” Instead, by prayer and petition along with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. Many times we pray our petitions, we pray our requests, we pray our needs, but we do not pray our thanksgiving; the things God has already blessed us with, the physical and the spiritual blessings that God has bestowed on his children. At times, our mental struggles captivate us so bad, we lose sight of our blessings, we lose sight of how fortunate we are, and we lose sight of the bigger picture because of our inability to filter our thoughts.
Additionally, we lose sight of what Paul commanded the church to do in the next two verses in Philippians 4:8-9, which says, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the peace of God will be with you all.” God promises His people through His own Word that if we apply exactly what He is telling us to do according to the Scripture that His peace will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. God allowed Paul to endure some very extreme circumstances when he wrote this epistle from prison to the church in order to demonstrate to them how they are to navigate their own sufferings, their own hardships, and their own adversity as followers of Christ, which begins with a person’s mental well being in the midst of affliction. True peace and true joy can only come into our hearts through Christ by the Spirit that empowers us to apply His Word!
Again, Paul commands the church in Colossians 3:1-2, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Remember, an overemphasis on any thought, constantly dwelling on something that is bringing you down in spirit, maximizing any hurt, pain, loss, trial, or bad experience will certainly result in poor mental health, fear, anxiety, uneasiness, stress, depression, or hopelessness. However, if you apply the Word of God, not to be anxious about anything, submit your petitions to God, capture every thought, fix your mind and your heart not on your earthly situations but on God and His Word, pray the Holy Spirit would enable you to counteract those thoughts attempting to captivate you, and put on the WHOLE armor of God, nothing in this world will conform you because you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Now, it is understood that this is easier said than done, and this is not a one-size-fits-all paradigm as some struggle with some severe mental illnesses that involves psychiatry. However, for those that are seeking to improve their mental health from a Biblical perspective, remember these tips below:
Loving God is more than just telling yourself you love God
Loving God involves how you prioritize God mentally and how you control your thoughts
Think about what you think; actually test your thoughts
Be intentional with changing negative thoughts into positive thoughts; change the channel to your mind to a different station
When you have a case of the stinking thinking, whatever you do, don’t reside there, don’t dwell or overemphasize those negative thoughts
Do not let the patterns of the world conform your thoughts, let the Word of God transform your thoughts
Measure your thoughts with the Word of God; examine how Jesus responded to His adversity
Adopt the same mindset and attitude as Jesus; mimic His actions
Understand what the Word of God says about how you should think, especially the verses above
Pray for the Holy Spirit to indwell in you and to enable you to effectively practice the spiritual discipline of controlling your thoughts
Stay connected to a local body of Christ; go to church consistently that will encourage your spiritual growth
Good physical health can aid in good mental health; Have a good diet, drink water, exercise, & rest
Remember, the Greatest Commandment is to Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. How are you loving God with all of your mind today??? How are you caring for your own mental well being, spiritually?
Let us pray:
Father God,
We thank you for another day, we thank you for who you are; a God who is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and quick to forgive. We thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. And we thank you for your precious Holy Spirit that comforts us, and leads us into all truth and understanding. We pray Lord that you will enable us to improve how we think, how we love you with all of our mind, and how to apply your Word that speaks about how we should think. Help us to minimize distractions and help us to focus more on you, and less on our situations. You shall increase and help us decrease, in the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen!