The COVID pandemic has done a mental number on millions of people and perhaps you are part of that number. Those who have been stuck at home are made redundant and forgot what it’s like to socialise or connect with others. As we highlight mental health this week, let’s go to the author of the mind and sober it in unadulterated truth Hebrews 4:12 NKJV.
We are chopping up 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV — For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I believe this scripture is a great way to challenge the worldly thought system and attacks from our enemy.
Sound Mind (“sophronismos“): The ancient Greek word here had the idea of moderation and self-control.
First, we must identify that there are two sections in this section of the epistle to Timothy. Let’s look a little deeper into scripture to unpack and apply its promise to our lives and mind. We identify the two sections as what God ‘has given‘ against what God ‘has not given‘ you.
What God has not given
Fear! I could end it there but for the sake of understanding let’s pick at the flesh of fear and dismantle it. God has not given you a spirit of fear, it’s not a gift and your loving Father in heaven has not given it to you. So why do you answer the doorknock on your heart and let fear deliver its packages into your mind? Probably because it has become a normal way of life.
God has not given you a spirit of fear Share on XThink of the common phrases we use like “I’m afraid I can’t make it this evening” or “I am anxious about the meeting”. It’s become part of our culture. So when God says I have not given you fear, why do you live with fear, timidity and anxiety? I believe it’s due to our wiring and conditioning; we are programmed.
So we need to break our programming and start to live to what God has given us, the gifts he has sent to us. Fear and timidity will keep us from using the gifts God gives. It is a significant step to say, “This isn’t God making me feel like this; God hasn’t given me this.”
Perhaps it is from personality, perhaps a weakness of the flesh, perhaps a demonic attack – but it isn’t from God. This truth MUST be established in your mind, so get in the mirror and say it to yourself. Each time you hear the voice of fear, repeat this scripture of 2 Timothy 1:7 back to that voice in your mind.
It will steady your mind and prepare your heart for the battles and deceptions that will try and plague your mind. There is no more effective tool for a Christian. Hey! It’s time to think free in Jesus!
Isaiah 41:10 NKJV — Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
So what does that sound mind look like?
What God has given
He has given you His love, His love in Jesus, a God who loves you too much to give you fear, anxiety and hopelessness. A Father in heaven who has given His Spirit of love to work in you and comfort you.
He has given you His power to overcome, conquer and live a victorious life through our saviour Jesus Christ. When we submit to God the Devil runs (James 4:7), when we wait on God he acts on our behalf (Isaiah 64:4). That’s true power, God working through us.
He has given you a calm, moderate and self-controlled mind. You do not have to react immediately, blow a fuse or spiral into the depth of despair. You don’t need to lose your marbles and take on the destructive voices of comparison or hopelessness. NO! GOD HAS NOT GIVEN THAT TO YOU.
Take time to put God’s word before your thoughts, put his teachings as filters for bad news and hard decisions. Put His word to your identity and you will grow good thoughts, good fruit.
Put it into your relationships and watch it grow you into a person who is temperate and calm not swayed by every wind and voice. Hard times will come however, your lens will change and you will approach and exist in your challenges differently.
Panic and confusion find their fuel in impulse, so take time and put God's word first. Share on XSo what is going to be your outcome for today, for tomorrow? You must take hold of these promises from God and live a mindfully free life in Jesus. God not only cares for your mental health, but He prescribes the antidote also to help you stand in a world that welcomes fear, prescribes it and at times celebrates it.
A world that gives you a plastic straw to fight a lion. Good but not God. See that God gives you Himself, which we know is His word.
The choice is yours, apply it, speak it and believe it, to a sobered mind.
